President Joe Biden and his challenger former President Donald Trump are said to be the final nominees of their respective parties for the US Elections 2024 which are scheduled to be held in November 2024. This came after the US presidential primary season was almost over. It said both contestants, respectively, the Democrats and Republicans will face each other in this election. Interestingly it was said even before this exercise was held.
According to recent reports, the latest poll from Reuters and Ipsos found the two candidates “statistically tied if the presidential elections are held today”. Biden holds a slight lead with 41 percent support compared to Trump’s 39 percent. In a normal presidential election year in the US, the primary season helps sift Democratic and Republican candidates in the fields until only one is left for the presidential race.
Interestingly the 2024 primaries were different from those in the past. The first state vote was held and the outcome was that both Biden and Trump will face each other in this election. “This primary season was unusual,” Tim Hagle, a political science professor at the University of Iowa, said, “In part, that was because there seemed little doubt as to who would be the nominee for his party.” The primary season comes to a close with no stakes for the two contestants. The most important thing to take away from this year’s presidential primaries was not about who would ultimately win each party’s nomination said experts. The primary season started on January 15 with Iowa’s traditional first-in-the-nation caucus for the Republican nomination.
The Republican candidate field was large, with over a dozen hopefuls including Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and former Vice President Mike Pence. Some political observers speculated that Florida’s Governor, Ron DeSantis, could challenge Trump for the Republican nomination. However, as the Iowa primary approached, polls showed that Trump maintained a significant lead over all his challengers. According to an earlier survey from Reuters and Ipsos, 61 percent of Republicans supported Trump, while his closest rivals, DeSantis and former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, only garnered 11 percent each. As a result, even before the first primary vote was cast, Republican candidates started dropping out.
“The Republican primaries have taught us that Donald Trump has a firm grip on his party,” said Richard F. Bensel, a professor of government at Cornell University. “No one in the party can stand up against him. Even his strongest opponents like Nikki Haley, have ultimately surrendered before could pursue their ambitions.”
A political science professor at the University of Michigan – Ken Kollman – said, “The primaries underscored that, despite some dissatisfaction with the two candidates, they are both here to stay. Despite the hopes of many, voters learned that these two aging politicians are not going anywhere and are headed for a showdown in November.” Kollman emphasized that both candidates maintained their leadership within their parties.
Joe Biden
The protest vote within the Democratic party has been significant. President Biden faced criticism from his party on issues such as Israel’s war in Gaza and immigration. The Gaza war led to protest movements against him during the primary season. During the Michigan primary, organizers encouraged Democratic voters to select options like the “uncommitted” category on their ballots instead of supporting It was anticipated that Biden would win, as no incumbent has ever lost in the modern primary system. “The Democratic primaries once again demonstrated the difficulty of replacing an incumbent president, even when he is said unpopular,” said Bensel, a professor at Cornell University. Experts said no Democratic candidates emerged to challenge the president as he sought his second term. Before the primaries even began, former environmental activist and conspiracy theorist Robert F Kennedy Jr withdrew from the Democratic race and instead ran independently. “No Democrats who would be considered serious candidates were willing to challenge Biden,” said Hagle, the University of Iowa professor. “Perhaps it didn’t seem as clear to Democrats that they would lose the general election in 2024, given that they believe they can beat Trump.” Trump lost the previous election, his supporters tried to overturn the result. He faces charges over his alleged participation in that scheme, as well as three other criminal cases.
On May 30th, in his first criminal trial, Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records. Never before has a US president been convicted of a crime. Mr. Biden is defined by high inflation, big industrial-policy bills, and turmoil abroad including Afghanistan, Ukraine, and the Middle East.
Joe Biden, at 78, became the oldest major-party presidential candidate. He won a seat in the Senate at the age of 30 and held it for over three decades. He made unsuccessful bids for president in 1988 and 2008 and served as Barack Obama’s vice president. Despite having a centrist approach, he has advocated for expanding the state and has supported labor unions. He has also led an international coalition to aid Ukraine against Russia’s attack. He promises to finish the job issue if re-elected, but voters are concerned about his age and health.
Donald Trump
Trump’s remarkable campaign follows his equally remarkable term as America’s 45th president, which ended shortly after his supporters staged an armed attack on the Capitol. He is alleged to have played a role in instigating the attack and in a broader effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election, resulting in two criminal indictments in federal court and Georgia state court. He is also facing two other indictments, totaling 91 felony charges. The 77-year-old denies any wrongdoing. Trump, is now running a campaign that focuses on familiar culture-war issues such as building a border wall and left-wing gender insanity, along with new grievances against the lawyers prosecuting his cases and the judges overseeing them.
(Author: Rana Kashif)
