The 2024 presidential election, which will take place on November 5, is being dominated by the three primary candidates: Democratic President Joe Biden, and Republicans former President Donald Trump and Nikki Haley.
Some of our Lakeland Regional High School students will be voting for the first time in this upcoming election; however, no matter your voting status, all students should be informed of what those running for office stand for and hope to achieve if elected. The Lancer Ledger staff who worked to compose this article hopes that the information provided will allow readers to make a more informed decision when voting in and discussing the 2024 election.
President Joe Biden
Joe Biden is the incumbent president of the United States. This is Biden’s fourth presidential campaign, and his first as an incumbent, as he ran for president in 1988, 2008, 2020, and now, 2024. Since January 20, 2021, Joe Biden has been the acting president of the United States. Before his presidency, Biden represented the state of Delaware in the United States Senate from 1973 to 2009, and served as the 47th vice president from 2009 to 2017 under President Barack Obama. He won the 2020 presidential election on November 3, 2020, with 306 electoral votes over Republican Donald Trump. Trump once again stands in Biden’s way as his main competitor for the 2024 presidential election. It should be worth noting that Biden is 81 years old, and would be 85 at the end of his second term, if he were reelected. At 81, Biden is already 4 years older than the second oldest US president to ever hold office, Ronald Reagan.
Biden’s campaign has highlighted the work of his administration, including the creation of new jobs, the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 and the United States Chips and Science Act, and the provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 that addressed climate change and allowed Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices. As for foreign affairs, Biden oversaw the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan that ended the war in Afghanistan, during which the Afghan government was taken over by the Taliban. He also responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by imposing sanctions on Russia and authorizing civilian and military aid to Ukraine. Most recently, during the Israel–Hamas war, Biden announced military support for Israel, and condemned the actions of Hamas and other Palestinian militants as terrorism.
On April 25, 2023, Biden announced he was running for re-election. It was also announced that Julie Chávez Rodriguez would be his campaign manager and Quentin Fulks would be principal deputy campaign manager. A Biden campaign ad outlined his policy priorities for a second term, saying he’d work to make childcare and elder care more accessible, protect Social Security and Medicare, enact a minimum tax for billionaires, codify the right to abortion, ban assault weapons, and support voting rights. Biden has also stated his intention to increase funding and resources for border patrol and enforcement, while also providing a path for people in the United States to apply for legal status and eventually citizenship. Specifically speaking on abortion, in a campaign speech Biden said, “If I have anything to do with it, I’m going to end up signing a law reinstating Roe v. Wade.”
Overall, he has made one thing clear with his 2024 campaign: Biden has frequently stated his intention to “finish the job” as a campaign theme and overall political slogan. With reelection, Biden will look to finish what he’s started these first four years as US president.
Donald Trump
Donald Trump was president from 2017-2021, and is a Republican candidate for the 2024 election. Prior to his election, Trump did not have a background in politics, but was well known in the business and real estate world, as well as the entertainment industry. If elected, Trump will be 78 at the start of his term, and 82 by the end.
Trump’s current campaign is very much based on platforms from his former presidency such as improvements in the median household income, record low illegal immigration, and ending unfair trade deals with other nations. On top of this, his campaign is also very much based on criticizing Biden for supposedly undoing much of his policies. One of Trump’s main campaign promises is to secure the border and Reclaim National Sovereignty, with plans to secure the U.S. border further against illegal immigration, end catch and release for immigrants, and deputize local police and national guard to remove more illegal immigrants. Trump also seeks increased funding for border police, as well as increased protection to launch a new campaign against the cartels, which he deems as terrorists.
Trump also seeks to Rebuild the Greatest Economy in History with him wanting to end what he calls unfair trade deals and implement a four year national reshoring plan and ban the ownership of critical industry from China. Trump also seeks lower taxes, promising bigger paychecks and more jobs for Americans as well as having America dominate the global energy market. As with past campaigns, Trump wants to “drain the swamp of Washington corruption” with him planning to “dismantle the deep state,” by cleaning out the rot and corruption of the government. He also plans to ban lobbying, taxpayers funding campaigns, and congress trading stocks with insider information.
Donald Trump seems to be running off his previous campaign’s slogan of “Making America Great Again” and other populist rhetoric that he ran in the last election.
Nikki Haley
Nikki Haley is a Republican candidate with previous political experience. According to her campaign website, NikkiHaley.com, she ran for South Carolina State House in 2004, where she won that position. Later, in 2010, she won the position of 116th governor of South Carolina, and was also reelected in 2014. Now, Haley is running for the role of United States president. Haley is the youngest of the candidates, and would be 52 years old when taking office.
According to an article on NBC News, Haley’s stance on abortion rights is that she opposes it. She justifies her position by citing her own struggles of having children as well as that her husband is adopted.
Haley has called the U.S. immigration system “broken.” She believes that having plainly open borders is a risk, but still seeks to welcome “properly vetted legal immigrants, regardless of their race or religion. Just like we have for centuries.” Stemming from this, Haley hopes to put a stop to allowing illegal immigrants entering the country. She also raises concerns about terrorism, explaining that “we must not let in refugees whose intentions cannot be determined.”
Haley seeks to lower taxes as well as reduce debt and spending. She hopes to plan this action in a way that it would benefit the U.S. for several years rather than just one. She aims for this endeavor to leave the U.S. in a better position than where they started. In 2010, Haley said that one of the first things she hopes to do is to eliminate corporate income taxes. She explains that this change will “cause businesses to want to come [to the U.S.], and it will create jobs in the process.”
Haley also opposes the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, and she supported the Paul Ryan budget plan of 2011. This plan would have made Medicare a voucher/premium support system. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), an independent source of journalism, polling, and health research, explained that a premium support system would mean that “the federal government would provide a payment on behalf of each Medicare beneficiary toward the purchase of a health insurance plan – either a private plan, similar a Medicare Advantage plan, or traditional Medicare.”
