The next presidential election is almost upon us, and many, many people are running for president. They need to earn their party’s nomination first. This election will include many hot-topic issues, such as abortion, education, immigration, crime and LGBTQ+ rights, according to The Hill.
Democrats:
Joe Biden, the incumbent president, is the oldest person to ever be president. He’s campaigning on promises of stability and democracy as well as traditional bread-and-butter Democratic issues, such as reducing gun violence, fighting climate change and increasing billionaire’s taxes, according to NBC News. He is the most popular Democratic candidate.
Marriane Williamson, who has “has never held political office”, according to NBC News, but has run multiple congressional seats, is most well-known for being a self-help author, and Oprah’s spiritual advisor. Her main positions include protecting abortion rights and, according to her campaign, “cannabis and psychedelics used for both recreational and medical purposes” and removing past convictions. She’s incited controversy for endorsing incorrect medical claims, particularly about mental illness and vaccines.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is part of the Kennedy political dynasty and nephew of former president JFK and son of former attorney general and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy. He is an environmental lawyer, anti-vaccine and claims vaccines are linked to autism (which has been debunked by scientists and the CDC) and known for spreading public health conspiracy theories, particularly about COVID-19. If he is elected, he’ll fight against Big Tech and aims to reform the police.
The rest of the Kennedy family seems to be backing Biden, according to the New York Times.
Republicans:
There are an eye-popping amount of Republican candidates for president. However, most Republican voters have said that they will vote for Trump. The complete list of candidates are former President Trump, Senator Tim Scott, Governor Desantis, Governor Haley, former Vice President Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, businessman Perry Johson, former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, conservative talk-show host Larry Elder, pastor Ryan Binkley, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, governor of North Dakota Doug Burgum, and former CIA officer Will Hurd.
Former president Donald Trump is running amid lots of controversy. He currently has four indictments, charging him for mishandling secret documents at his estate in Mar-a-Lago, for “working to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the violent riot by his supporters in the U.S. Capitol”, according to the Associated Press, and is being sued for lying about the value of his properties to banks and tax authorities.
Policy-wise, Trump wants to pardon those who’d received federal sentences for the January 6 attack on the capitol, is anti-abortion and putting more money into policing. No president since Grover Clevland has served non-consecutive terms, which may prove to be a challenge for Trump.
Ron Desantis is the governor of Florida that has become a main-stay in the news in recent years. In Florida, he has placed restrictions on transgender people, put a six-week abortion ban in place and is extremely anti-immigration. On a national level, he is expected to implement changes in education, which means cracking down on “woke” ideology, like lessons on sexual orientation, gender identity and discussions about race, according to USA Today.
Nickki Haley, former governor of South Carolina has openly criticized Trump in the past. According to the NYT, Haley supports term limits and competency tests for politicians over 75, cutting national spending, and is critical of the transgender community.
Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, is running on an anti-abortion position, finishing the construction of the southern border wall, and aims to “increase employment”. He argues that Democrats are incorrect “about the persistence of structural racism in the United States”, according to the New York Times. However, he has pushed against modern-day racism and supports reforming the police. Like most Republican candidates, he wants to present a softer, more bi-partisan option than Trump.
Mike Pence, former vice president to Donald Trump, is strongly anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ+ according to NBC News, and refused to overturn the 2020 election, which had earned the ire of Trump.
Independants:
The independent candidates for president are Joseph “Afroman” Foreman (a rapper), Taylor Marshall (a author and conspiracy author) and Ye, (rapper and candidate in 2020).
Some people may not take their run for president seriously. According to The Hill, “in at least four presidential elections since 1900, a third-party candidate attracted enough votes to arguably change the outcome. Two of those losses went to Democrats and two to Republicans.”
Even if you aren’t old enough to vote, it is still important to pay attention to the Presidential elections. It affects us all.