2024 Primary Elections- An Ongoing Race
The United States Primary Elections began on Jan. 15 and will end on Sept. 10. The primaries are a system utilized by the two prominent U.S. political parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, to determine their nominee for the 2024 presidential election, which will take place in November. For every primary, candidates are awarded multiple delegates proportional to their percentage of votes. The candidate that meets the necessary number of delegates for their party will gain the nomination.
The frontrunners for the 2024 election are President Biden and Former President Donald Trump. Though many political pundits view their matchup as inevitable, others say this may not be the case, as an NBC News Poll found that 70 percent of Americans preferred having neither candidate in office.
Students such as Brody Strauss (‘24) believe this disapproval should be more properly acknowledged by the current political system.
“A lot of people are going to tell you that you have to vote for Trump or Biden. You have to vote for one or the other because of the lesser evil idea. Because if you don't vote for this guy, this even worse guy is going to come in.” Strauss said. “I think that's a terrible idea. I think that's a fear-mongering scare tactic…You're not exercising your right to have a candidate who doesn't even reflect your values. You're exercising your right to say this is who I want to lead.”
The two major candidates participating in the Republican Primary are Trump and former United Nations Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. Despite the fact that Trump opted out of the recent series of debates, Haley and Trump became the only remaining Republican Candidates after the three initial Republican Primaries.
Trump is running on a campaign of isolationism and populist conservatism. His main points include reinforcing the southern border, pushing for an “America First” foreign policy and applying tax cuts and anti-regulatory initiatives. Many of his supporters believe that he won the 2020 presidential election, despite various inquiries into the election’s credibility that have proved this claim to be false. One of which, a study from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, found there was no evidence of widespread election fraud.
Nikki Haley, seen by many as a Trump alternative, is running on neoconservatism and as a more moderate alternative to the former president. She advocates for free-market economic policies, for the United States to be an engaged foreign power and for reinforcing the southern border.
AP Government and US History Teacher Nathaniel Acker (’83) relays some background information on the ongoing Republican Race.
“The one question mark right now are Trump’s legal woes. Is that going to have any impact on the primary?” Acker said. “Will that give Nikki Haley traction as she’s finally starting to be a little more aggressive about her stance on Trump?”
Even as the Democratic Party’s primary elections take place, Biden is the incumbent president, a position that has never lost to a primary challenger during a president’s tenure. However, Minnesota House Representative Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson are focusing on opening up additional options for the Democratic nominee.
Acker gives some valuable perspective on why many voters on both sides of the aisle are seeking alternatives.
“I think there is a desire to have a younger, more vigorous person on the Democratic side to run as opposed to Biden," Acker said. “I think on the Republican side, there's a lot of people who are really worried about Trump…how he really doesn't care about the guard rails democracy.”
Biden is focusing his campaign on continuing his current presidency, advocating for a form of general liberalism. His core issues are abortion rights, creating an economic safety net, internationalism, and a better social healthcare system. Dean Phillips is working on affordable housing, Medicare for All, anti-corruption initiatives and reforming the bureaucracy of the two-party system. Marianne Williamson is running on climate justice, education reform and anti-corporatism.
Strauss, who will be voting for the first time in the upcoming election, discusses some of his stresses with President Biden’s border policies.
“I’m a registered Democrat. I’m not very satisfied that Biden offered that 5 million undocumented immigrants can come through the border…… I feel like there should be more security. I feel like that’s kind of why it’s, it’s getting easier for for the cartel to sort of bring drugs into this country...It’s a sad, sad thing, where children are being poisoned, where children are taking a whole bunch of drugs, and they’re seizing out before they before they can even have a chance to vote. Despicable. It’s a huge issue”
The independent third-party candidates (not associated with either major party) include activist Robert Kennedy Jr., a philosophy professor Cornel West and Jill Stein, a physician running for the Green Party. Robert Kennedy Jr. is running on environmentalism and disputed anti-vaccination theories. West is running as a more left-leaning alternative to President Biden, garnering support from voters who have been against the current administration’s Israel-Palestine policy. Stein is running on a traditional Green Party ticket, advocating for climate rights and corporate social responsibility.
The first two Republican Primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire were both majority wins for Trump. Neither of Trump’s challengers in Iowa (Haley and former candidates Governor Ron Desantis and Vivek Ramaswamy) retained any substantial part of the electorate in Iowa. In New Hampshire, Haley followed close behind Former President Trump obtaining 44 percent compared to Former President Trump’s 55 percent. Haley is focusing on the next major primary in her home state, South Carolina, as she remains Trump’s sole challenger to the Republican Nomination.
President Biden won the primary election in South Carolina and a write-in campaign in New Hampshire.
Acker concludes his message with encouragement toward voting students at Samo.
“In terms of the primaries, I would encourage students to find out more about it, register to vote if they're eligible, and pre-registered in California,” Acker said. “And ultimately, for the election itself, get involved, be engaged.”