Presidential Candidates
With the Michigan primary presidential election less than a month away, it’s time to start considering each of the candidates running for election. Here is an overview of each candidate running for the 2024 Presidential Election:
Democrats:
Joe Biden: Current President of the United States, Biden declared his re-election campaign on April 25, 2023. According to NBC, Biden aims to “finish the job,” hoping to continue pressing his administration’s agenda and “fight for our democracy” against “MAGA extremists.” Some of Biden campaign positions are protecting Social Security and Medicare, capping insulin at $35 a month, providing aid and assistance to Ukraine in their war with Russia, a billionaire minimum tax, and anyone making under $400,000 won’t see a tax increase.
Marianne Williamson: An author who gained recognition through “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” Williamson ran for the democratic nomination in 2020, but dropped out in January of that year. She has never held political office. Williamson advocates for the resistance of all efforts to restrict, limit, or diminish the reproductive rights and freedoms granted by Roe v. Wade, to declare a national emergency around the gun violence epidemic, and to reach 100 percent renewable energy and dramatically reduce carbon emissions by 2035.
Dean Phillips: Three-term congressman and former CEO, Dean Phillips has been critical of Joe Biden’s bid for reelection, concerned with his age and low approval ratings. According to NBC, Phillips’ call to action is not about him, rather, wanting Biden to step down. Phillips supports the enhancement of public safety by funding police departments and first responders, immigration reform through better border security and easier pathways to citizenship, and giving patients the ability to make decisions about their own health, including reproductive health.
Republicans:
Donald Trump: Former President of the United States, Donald Trump was the earliest of the candidates to declare his intent of running for President. He faces criminal charges after being indicted by a Manhattan jury, as well as federal criminal charges concerning classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort. NBC reports that Trump intends to repeal many of the Biden administration’s initiatives. He campaigns for legislation representing a “record investment” in police, a pardon of people convicted of federal offenses affiliated with the January 6, 2021 attack on the capitol, an executive order to “cease all programs that promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age,” and abortion laws specifying exceptions for rape, incest, and health of the mother.
Nikki Haley: Former governor of South Carolina and United Nations ambassador during the Trump administration, Haley has been critical of Trump and calls for a new generation of leadership. NBC states that Haley strives to find a “national consensus” regarding abortion, mandate an E-Verify program for businesses to prevent the hiring of immigrants in the country illegally, hire more border patrol and ICE agents, and create term limits for members of Congress and mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old.