It likely won’t happen as soon as some of us would want, but it will happen in due course.

The 25 Democrats running for president of the United States need to begin thinning out. Some of the fringe folks need to call it a campaign, go home and resume doing whatever they were doing before they decided to seek their 15 minutes of notoriety.

Marianne Williamson, John Delaney, Andrew Yang … see ya around. It pains me to say it, but John Hickenlooper needs to go back to Colorado. That’s four of ’em.

More are likely to follow. I’m guessing Tulsi Gabbard is likely to pack it in as well. Eric Swalwell? Buh-bye.

None of these candidates is likely to get any traction based on their first debate performances.

The media and the political experts are focusing on the Main Eventers: Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders, Julian Castro, Beto O’Rourke, Michael Bennet … good heavens, I know I am missing someone; maybe several someones.

Twenty-five is too many candidates, although I will never suggest the also rans shouldn’t have tossed their fedoras into the middle of the ring. The two-part Democratic debate marathon earlier this week did demonstrate how hard it is for all the candidates to be heard, let alone those with next to zero visibility.

If they stay in for a while longer, that’s fine.

The time is fast approaching, though, for the fittest of the bunch to start making their presence felt. The aim of the Democratic Party must include an agenda that involves defeating Donald J. Trump.

Let’s get real. Not all the Democrats running for president are able to do perform that essential task.