Every 2020 candidate's 404 error page, ranked
UPDATE: May 16, 2019, 3:36 p.m. EDT Since this story was published, three more candidates -- Bill de Blasio, Michael Bennet, and Steve Bullock -- have entered the race, so we've updated to include their 404 pages.
Joe Biden is now officially in the 2020 race and along with a lot of baggage and controversy, he's also brought a new fun 404 error page to the campaign.
But where does Biden's page stand in the context of every candidate that's declared for 2020? After all, there are nearly two dozen candidates.
We've compiled a ranking of the 404 error page from every candidate's website from worst to best. All 23 26 of them.
One note: these candidates were based off of the New York Times' list of candidates and we included Howard Schultz because he's made a lot of noise and gotten a lot of notice over a potential run. These rankings are based solely on the quality of the 404 pages themselves, not the candidates.
Behold.
26. Donald Trump
There is such a thing as a sore winner and there has likely never been a more textbook example of that in America's history than President Donald Trump, whose 404 page is a monument to the fact that he just can't let anything go.
25. Howard Schultz
The former Starbucks CEO's feeling-out period (he technically hasn't officially entered the race) has been full of so many LOLs that when I discovered he used the much-maligned Papyrus font on his 404 page, my only reaction was, "of course he did."
24. Bill de Blasio
If de Blasio were being honest, the New York City mayor's 404 page would really just be a picture of an overpacked MTA platform during rush hour with de Blasio screaming, "BUT IT'S CUOMO'S FAULT!"
23. Seth Moulton
Moulton, a House rep from Massachusetts, has a responsive site that simply redirects any bad URL to his main page. TL;DR, he doesn't have a 404 page. And yet it's still better than Trump or Schultz.
22. Bill Weld
The former governor of Massachusetts who's the only Republican to announce a challenge to Trump thus far has an incredibly bland, generic 404 page that has a very "Wordpress default" feel to it. Same goes for the next few entries.
21. Tim Ryan
The only reason Tim Ryan is ranked this high is because Weld's page is even drier.
20. Tulsi Gabbard
At least it's blue?
19. Julian Castro
What if Julian's twin brother Joaquin had a site with the exact same 404 page?
18. Marianne Williamson
Williamson hasn't yet reached the required number of donors to make the DNC debates this summer, but at least there's some sort of personalization to her 404 page.
17. Michael Bennet
The first of a collection of dad jokes on the list (it's fine!) is paired with a shot of Bennet and his family on a hike, which is nice! But the photo is taken from a distance and and it's hard to get a good look at the U.S. Senator from Colorado who, from here, looks a lot like the other white male candidates. No matter how much you squint, he still looks just like two-thirds of the rest of the field.
16. Wayne Messam
The mayor of Miramar, Florida steps things up by having an actual photo of himself.
15. Cory Booker
Come on, Cory, the "making a funny face" gag is pretty tired to begin with and, besides, doing something with a Hot Pocket would have been such a layup.
14. Steve Bullock
There's not much to say about the 404 page from Steve Bullock, the governor of Montana. It's another dad pun that's kind of generic and bland, just like most of the candidates in the race. They're the shruggie of 2020.
13. Andrew Yang
Yang has been closely associated with memes by the press, which makes his meme-less 404 page somewhat of a let-down.
12. Pete Buttigieg
Buttigieg is one of the hot choices right now but he disappoints with this 404 page. As we've seen, the "candidate making a mock disappointed parent face" isn't very original. All he had to do to guarantee himself the top spot was to tease his fledgling Phish phandom.
11. John Hickenlooper
There's a very "Life is a Highway" feel about this 404 page and I love that jam, so here we are.
10. John Delaney
Delaney, a former congressman from Maryland, quotes from Bruce Springsteen here which is fine! Delaney is apparently a huge Springsteen fan but, then again, so is Chris Christie. Besides, Delaney chooses to pass up the easy pick -- "Born to Run" -- in favor of "Dead Man Walkin'" which, come on, isn't the best play when you want to win, right?
And, frankly, how does this page not play off the fact that Delaney is actually Bezos-level swole?
9. Kirsten Gillibrand
Points to Gillibrand for being playful. Any other year, a candidate drinking a beer might be more noteworthy. But Elizabeth Warren already played that card and it backfired based simply on beer choice.
8. Amy Klobuchar
Big credit to Midwesterner Klobuchar for being the "Ope!" of the 2020 404 pages.
7. Beto O'Rourke
The first of three candidates who went with GIFs instead of text or photos. It's kinda funny and original enough to rank pretty high here, but the other two GIF candidates are better.
6. Jay Inslee
This is wild for a variety of reasons:
The dad joke laid bare (sorry not sorry) for all to see.
It uses a cartoon of a surfing bear.
Inslee himself drew that cartoon of a surfing bear.
I love everything about it.
5. Joe Biden
Say what you will about Biden, and there's a lot that could be said, but he at least knows his brand.
4. Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders is a lightning rod thanks to "Bernie Bros" and his role in 2016, but I still find this pretty funny.
3. Elizabeth Warren
A Star Wars reference, a memorable Warren quote, and an SNL video featuring Kate McKinnon? That is a recipe for success, right there.
2. Kamala Harris
The cream of the crop in terms of the GIF 404 pages.
1. Eric Swalwell
You'd be forgiven if you don't know much about Swalwell, a California congressman. But he's the only politician who's recently had a high school yearbook item go viral for the right reasons and, as a member of some key House committees, he could have some visibility in the coming months.
Also, not only does he feature his dog Penny on his 404 page, but the extra effort is taken to turn your cursor into a floating image of Penny's face which, really, cinches it.
Topics Donald Trump Joe Biden Politics
Marcus Gilmer is Mashable's Assistant Real-Times News Editor on the West Coast, reporting on breaking news from his location in San Francisco. An Alabama native, Marcus earned his BA from Birmingham-Southern College and his MFA in Communications from the University of New Orleans. Marcus has previously worked for Chicagoist, The A.V. Club, the Chicago Sun-Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.
