Republicans:
Donald Trump
Even with his 91 cases across four indictments, former President Donald Trump is currently in the lead out of the Republican candidates given that he has the most support, mostly stemming from his previous campaigns and years in office. Although he has not attended any of the GOP debates yet, Trump has maintained his presence amongst his opponents by calling them “human scum” and “vermin” via X. With his media company Truth Social going bankrupt, Trump may not have enough finances to survive in the race.
Chris Christie
As the former governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie is on his second presidential campaign after an unsuccessful run in 2016. However, unlike before where he’d endorsed Donald Trump’s rise to presidency, Christie has transformed into one of Trump’s most vociferous opponents– deeming Trump a “failure” in several public interviews. In terms of Christie’s current performance, he has marginally qualified for the first few republican debates and as of mid-November, ranks third on polls behind Trump and Nikki Haley. He has also been vocal on his pro-life stance, and addressed abortion as a state issue while also pushing for Tiktok bans, stricter immigration policies (without a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants so as to “not award” them for breaking the law), and to limit the wealthy from receiving social security.
Vivek Ramaswamy
Owner of three private jets and valued at almost a billion dollars, Vivek Ramaswamy is the second wealthiest candidate competing in the Republican primary– behind who he noted as “the best president of the 21st century” Donald Trump. The son of immigrant parents, Ramaswamy left high school as class valedictorian before graduating Harvard College summa cum laude for his bachelors in biology and attending Yale Law School. One key part of his presidential campaign is his opposition to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) which expands upon his position towards climate change; he perceives fossil fuels as critical to human flourishing, and noted that past policies regarding climate change have been both “cult[ish]” and a “hoax” in the Republican debates. Regarding elevating diversity, he’s been vocal on building a race-blind meritocracy and eliminating affirmative action. Other stances of his include supporting six-week bans on abortion on the state-level, using aggressive militant force to secure the border, eliminating unions, and banning transgender care.
Ron DeSantis
Desantis is firing workers from his campaign due to recent fundraising issues.
Although he is not as ahead as Trump in the Republican Primary polls, Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis has been working his way up in the race. As president, DeSantis’ stance in abortion relates to a bill that he passed that allows women in Florida to get an abortion only within 6 weeks in the pregnancy stage. With regards to culturally educational issues DeSantis passed the Parental Rights on Education Bill, which allows parents to make more decisions about their child’s education with subjects on sexual orientation. As a supporter of Trump, DeSantis plans to construct a border wall if he becomes president. With the Ukraine issue, DeSantis has not been as vocal about the topic as he has been with other ones, such as the economy. More specifically, DeSantis wants corporations to invest in the US for long-term benefits.
Nikki Haley
As the only female Republican candidate, Nikki Haley is currently behind DeSantis in the polls. Haley’s experience in office consists of being a former Governor of South Carolina, as well as a former US Ambassador to the United Nations. The stance Haley takes concerning abortion is that she believes it should be available, but she does not fully support “late-term” abortions. Haley has also proposed The Freedom Plan, which would eliminate federal gas, reduce income tax rates, and make small-business tax relief perpetual. Regarding the Israel and Hamas War, Haley plans to support Israel and strengthen the US military as president.
Democrats:
Joe Biden
Although it was stated from his own campaign for the 2020 election that current President Joe Biden would not run for re-election in 2024, it seems to be false given that he is the leading Democratic candidate so far. Throughout his presidency, he has been building his legacy by lowering costs of families’ expenses, growing the economy by creating more job opportunities, raising taxes on the wealthy, supporting the middle class, extending healthcare, and more. However, Biden not only loses support from Hispanic and African American demographics, but he is also losing support from swing states that contain large populations of Muslims from not taking action in the Israel and Hamas War.
Marianne Williamson
Despite trailing heavily behind current President Joe Biden in polls, 71 year old Marianne Williamson is running for the second time. Prior to her entry into politics, she’s most notable for publishing over a dozen books in the self-help or spiritual genre and founding Project Angel Food which provided free meals for the ill. Her ongoing campaign carries similar themes regarding economic inequality with pushes towards universal health care, increasing minimum wage, enforcing paid parental leave, and more. She intends to create a Federal Department of Peace to develop nonviolent conflict resolution, pay reparations for slavery, and establish abortion as a federal right. However, she’s facing criticism for her lack of political background and her comments in 2019 that promoted dubious theories on deteriorating mental health as the lack of “spiritual, not medical” wellbeing.
Dean Philips
From Minnesota’s third congressional district, multimillionaire Dean Phillips assumed office in the House of Representatives in 2019 and only recently stepped down from a position of leadership to prepare for the presidential elections. Despite running against Biden, Phillips has stressed that this is not in opposition, rather he believes it’s “time for the torch to be passed on to a new generation of American leaders.” In addition, part of his agenda includes bringing down the cost of living with pro-worker and pro-business policies (influenced by his entrepreneurial history in the liquor and gelato industries) and improving community safety– but he’s also incited tension with other democrat members for his decision to run and potentially jeopardize the success of Biden.
Note: This list does not include all presidential candidates, and as the election proceeds, there may be new changes and key details missing from what’s above. Remember to stay informed off multiple sources and vote if legible. You can drive change.
