The presidential elections are coming up this year, and it’s important to know who it is you’re voting for (if you can). Joe Biden and Donald Trump, both re-running, are dominating their respective parties, but who else is available? It is important to note that events may have transpired after this article was published, all data is as of the publication date.
Biden, running for his second term, is the dominating choice of the Democrats. For his second term, he aims to make both childcare and elderly care more accessible. He plans to support voting rights, ban assault weapons, codify the right for abortion, and enact a minimum billionaire tax. As the oldest person to ever take office, Republicans have his doubts about him taking office, but he is firmly supported by the Democrats.
Trump, following his inauguration during his term and following controversy during Biden’s term, is seemingly frontrunning regardless. Despite multiple states trying to remove his name from the ballet, his followers continue to support him. For his first day in office, he promises an investigation on Biden and his family, including his son Hunter. He has also implied that his unfair prosecution, in his opinion, should and will be used against his competitors. Interestingly, he has phrased this as if he will have a third term, something never even considered before.
Contrary to the mass of republicans earlier in the election, there’s only one democrat other than Biden running for office. The one runner in question is Dean Phillips, who supports Biden’s agenda in congress but disagrees with him on some major policies. He left a position at the Democratic House to run for office, against the wishes of many of the party’s elected officials. He had a few major disagreements with Biden, and believes that the party should nominate someone younger, to say the least.
There are a handful of other candidates other than Trump in the Republican party. Nikki Haley, United Nations ambassador under Trump and former governor of South Carolina, is by far the most advertised next to Trump and Biden. Her allure is shaky, due to an uncertain view on Trump, but she was long seen as a rising republican star. Along with her, Ryan Binkley, newcomer to the race, declares “The problems we face, and the blame we lay, can all be rectified if we look to God, find the good in our fellow Americans, and resolve to trust each other one more time
There are a handful of remaining candidates representing third parties or themselves. The first of the three is Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who happens to be the nephew of former president John F. Kennedy. He was formerly running with the Democratic party before announcing he would run independently. He is a prominent anti-vaccine activist, with a crusade that tormented his incredibly close family. Cornel West, who has taught at a number of schools, including Harvard, is known for his progressive activism. He has switched parties multiple times, initially running with People’s Party, before switching to Green Party and then to independent. Finally, Jill Stein is running for the third time, with promises of rights to employment, health care, housing, food and education, along with fighting climate change and protecting abortion and transgender rights.
With the elections ending September 10th, there is surely enough time to vote, but always keep in mind that new information could always surface, so be sure to stay in the loop.
