“For us to be critical of the president and not be willing to stand up to one of our own would be hypocritical,” said Representative Donald McEachin of Virginia, who on Friday night called for the resignation of Mr. Northam, his classmate in the State Senate. “As we distinguish ourselves from the Trump Republican Party, we really need to be careful as to what we do.”

Further, Mr. Trump’s willingness to wield race as a political weapon — portraying undocumented immigrants as murderers, for example — has also amplified the expectations of what Democratic activists expect from their own candidates.

The party rank-and-file and leadership alike are eager to hear the female and nonwhite presidential candidates talk about their identities and backgrounds and how those have shaped their lives, which is strikingly different from the 2008 Democratic primary, when some Democrats counseled Hillary Clinton to downplay her gender and Barack Obama to avoid emphasizing his race.

“The backlash against Trump’s hate has created more space and openness about issues of race and gender, at least in circles that are open to having those conversations,” said Gina Hinojosa, a Democratic state representative in Texas.

But the expectations on the 2020 hopefuls to talk candidly about their own experiences, and how they relate to some of the country’s thorniest and deep-seated challenges, are not only being placed on the shoulders of the women and racial minorities in the field.

“We need to hear from the white candidates about their whiteness and how white privilege has affected their lives,” said Brittany Packnett, a racial justice activist, adding: “Not only is it politically safe, it’s politically necessary to have this conversation.”