For those 2020 Democrats whose names aren’t Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, or Bernie Sanders, the next few months represent a make-or-break stretch of the primary. Candidates on the cusp, like Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg, are looking to prove they have what it takes to go the distance. Compelling contenders like Cory Booker, whose campaign recently warned its end would be nigh if it didn’t get a sudden and significant fundraising boost, are hoping for their big moment to finally make an impression. And longshot outsider candidates like Andrew Yang and Tulsi Gabbard are seeking to transcend their niche fandoms to achieve broader, more mainstream appeal.

The impeachment inquiry Democrats launched this week against Donald Trump could throw a wrench into all of it. At a time when second- and third-tier contenders are fighting to be noticed, the national attention has shifted from the primary to the president’s apparent efforts to pressure Ukraine to dig up dirt on Biden. While Trump allies’ attempts to turn the scandal around on Biden could jeopardize his frontrunner status, it may also damage his opponents’ chances of overtaking him. “This is a nuclear bomb dropped in the middle of the race,” Jared Leopold, an aide to Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who ended his own presidential campaign last month, told the New York Times on Thursday. “It’s going to change the dynamics for everyone.”

The head-spinning drama surrounding Trump’s interactions with Volodymyr Zelensky has a variety of implications for 2020. On the one hand, it could damage Trump’s chances, highlighting his corruption and grinding his agenda to a halt. On the other, impeachment could energize the president’s base and rally his supporters around him, just as Nancy Pelosi feared. Meanwhile, Trump’s efforts to gather dirt on Biden—many of which have been conducted in the public eye—reflect the president’s anxiety about the former VP, who has led the Democratic field in most early polls. In promoting the conspiracy theory that Biden quashed a Ukranian probe into an energy company tied to his son, Trump and his allies could dent his campaign. That, analysts say, could open up a lane for Warren to slide into frontrunner role after months of rising in the polls.

But, as the Times noted Thursday, the Ukraine scandal could have even more of an impact on those candidates still hoping to find their footing. Biden, Warren, and Sanders, the theory goes, have already established themselves, and are likely to get play in the press regardless. The same can’t be said for those playing catch-up, who may wind up with less press attention, and fewer opportunities to distinguish themselves as the latest developments out of the White House drown out key policy discussions. “There’s going to be wall-to-wall coverage of impeachment,” pollster Matt Barreto told the Times. “How do they find space to talk about Medicare for all, immigration reform, or criminal justice reform?”

Before the Ukraine scandal broke, impeachment had been a distinguishing issue among the 2020 field. Support for proceedings against Trump among candidates like Warren, Beto O’Rourke, and others had separated them from centrists like Biden, who’d echoed Democratic leadership’s concerns that such a measure could weigh down the party’s chances in 2020. But with even Biden now indicating he could back impeachment, the push is no longer a controversial matter among Democrats. That could be bad news for Trump, who will now almost certainly become the third president to be impeached in the House of Representatives. But it could also be bad news for some seeking to challenge him as the Democratic nominee, potentially cementing the top tier of candidates at a critical juncture of the primary.

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