The 2024 presidential election is on Nov. 5, so here’s an early look at the candidates and where they stand amongst different issues.
There are a total of nine candidates in the running for president in the 2024 presidential election. Running as democrats are Joe Biden, Marianne Williamson and Dean Philips.
On the republican side are Donald Trump, Nikki Haley and Ryan Binkley. As independent or third-party there are Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Cornel West and Jill Stein.
There are key issues that each candidate has been asked about that allows people to see how they view important issues that are ongoing in the United States right now. These issues are on abortion, climate, crime and guns, the economy, education, elections, foreign policy and immigration.
Joe Biden was elected in 2020 and is the current President of the United States. Biden as well as many other candidates have stated that they want to protect social security, as well as canceling some student debt that people may have.
Social Security is an important benefit that the federal government has put in place to help retirees and people that have lost a spouse. Biden spoke about the importance of it and how when losing a spouse that made about the same income as you, it can be hard, which is where social security benefits come into play.
Along with issues with social security, immigration plays another major role in the U.S. Many immigrants that come to live in America, with some crossing the border illegally. Illegal immigrants seek refuge in America hoping for better lives, especially if they are mothers that cross the border are pregnant and hoping better for their baby.
When mothers come into America illegally and have their baby on American soil, their baby automatically becomes a United States citizen. This is called birthright citizenship.
Six out of nine of the candidates support that immigrants seeking refuge have the right to gain citizenship. Many of them also support that families should not be separated during the process and that many of them would make departments that aid in immigrants seeking refuge in the United States.
Gwynneth Casto, a sophomore majoring in visual arts said that people are people and that it is unfair to deny human rights to others when their parents are from another country.
“People are people. The fact that we might deny another human’s right to live equally because they were born and their parents are from another country is crap,” says Casto.
Former US President Donald Trump had 40 charges against him and faced four indictments based on unlawful retention of national defense information and falsifying business records. Even though Trump has faced all of these allegations and gone through many trials, he is running for president again in the 2024 presidential election.
Some states, such as Maine and Colorado, have taken Trump off the ballot due to the fact that the 14th amendment in the U.S. Constitution bans insurrectionists from holding office and citing the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. As of writing, Trump is appealing the decision to remove him from the ballot.
Though many of the candidates running for president mention that they want to help immigrants become U.S. citizens, Trump says that he wants to end birthright citizenship and conduct mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
According to factcheck.org, Trump has promised to make an executive order on day one of him being president if he is re-elected to end birthright citizenship even though it has been part of the 14th amendment for over 100 years.
Many candidates and people in the United States feel different about this topic and hope to help the situation for immigrants that seek refuge on American soil.
Kyle Primeaux, a freshman majoring in environmental science said that he thinks that we should open our borders to others that seek refuge and have departments for immigration.
“As a humanitarian person, I believe come war, risk of human endangerment from governments or environments, we should open our borders and have a department for emigration and immigration,” said Primeaux. “We are built off of immigration, so why should we turn around and boot others when we are built on it.”
Another issue is climate change. Climate change has been attributed increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide that is produced by the use of fossil fuels.
Presidential candidates such as Marianne Williamson, believe that humans are the sole cause of climate change and that government action is the solution.
While many candidates believe that humans are the main cause of climate change, Trump believes that humans aren’t the only cause and that climate change is not making the weather changes worse.
Even though there are many candidates with views and plans to do better for the country, some people don’t think so. Some people think that what some of the candidates are doing and saying is just a show and nothing will come from this presidential campaign.
“There’s nobody I would for because when have we ever been made to feel like our vote mattered? As far as I’m concerned, it’s all a show anyway,” says Casto.
While others may feel that voting doesn’t matter, some think otherwise.
“Honestly, please go vote. It’s your birthright in America. Also, it is important to get educated on candidates,” says Primeaux.
There are nine candidates in the 2024 presidential campaign so far, each with many views on serious topics that should be talked about. Each topic is important to cover and many of them have solutions or ideas as to how they will tackle these issues.
These topics being discussed early on make it easier for the people wanting to vote in 2024 so that they can clearly look at the candidates and how they think they can change America for the better.