Meet the Presidential Candidates
Democratic Presidential Candidate: VP Kamala Harris
Endorsed by President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris is presumed to be the Democratic Presidential nominee following Biden's departure from the race. She has served for the past four years as the Vice President to President Biden and was previously the Attorney General of California, and later, U.S. Senator of California. Vice President Harris is the first black, asian, and female Vice President of the United States and, if she wins the election in November, will be the first black, asian, and female President of the United States.
You can visit Harris' official campaign website here, to find out more about her and what she hopes to accomplish.
Republican Presidential Candidate: President Donald J. Trump
President Trump previously served one term as President with Vice President Mike Pence, from 2016-2020. He is the Republican Presidential nominee. He is convicted of a battery of federal and state criminal charges related to his efforts to overturn his election loss to Biden in 2020. He is originally from Queens, New York, and was previously a businessman and TV personality before serving as President.
You can visit Trump's official campaign website here, to find out more about him and what he hopes to accomplish.
The Presidential Candidates: Their Stances on Issues
| Issues | Vice President Kamala Harris | President Donald J. Trump |
|---|---|---|
| Economy | Promoted the Biden administration's economic policies including the infrastructure bill, funding for small businesses, a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act that capped the cost of insulin for people on Medicare, and student debt forgiveness. | Wants to lower the tax rate for the wealthiest Americans and corporations; Opposes cuts to Social Security and Mdeicare; Against slashing defense spending. |
| Elections | Recognizes the legitimacy of the 2020 election results and condemns Trump's efforts to overturn them; Believes that the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6th showed our nation what it would look like if the "forces who seek to dissmantle our democracy are successful." | Does not recognize Biden as the legitmate winner of the 2020 election; Considers pardoning some people convicted in connection with the January 6th 2021 attatck on the Capitol. |
| Foreign Policy | Calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza and describes the situation as a "humanitarian catastrophe;" Supports Ukraine and believes that Russia has committed "crimes againt humanity" in Ukraine. | Believes that U.S. politicians are America's greatest threat; Weary on support of Ukraine; Position on defending Taiwan is unclear. |
| Abortion | Supports legislation that would protect the right to abortion nationally; Proposed federal protections that would limit state abortion restrictions; Embarked on a nationwide Reproductive Freedoms Tour earlier in the year. | Believes that the legality of abortions should be left up to the states to decide; He supports exceptions in cases of rape, incest, or when the pregnancy is life-threatening. |
| Immigration | Announced $950 million in pledges from private companies to support Central American communities; Backed a bipartisan border security deal that would have closed the border if crossings reached a set threshold and have funded thousands of new border security agents. This deal was killed by Trump. | Will conduct mass deportations of undocumented immigrants by detaining them in large migrant camps; Will end birthright citizenship; Intends to suspend the U.S. refugee program, bar travel from Muslim-majority countries, and reinstate the Title 42 border policy that refused entry to asylum seekers. |
| Climate | Supported the Biden Administration's climate efforts including legislation that provided hundreds of billions of dollars in tax credits for renewable energy and electric vehicles; Emphasizes the need for environmental justice. | Believes that human activity is the only cause of climate change but is not making the extreme weather worse; Favors market solutions over regulation; Does not support clean-energy tax credits and would cancel subsidies for electric vehicles. |
| Crimes and Guns | Previously committed to mandating universal background checks, revoking the liscenses of gun manufacturers who break the law, closing a loophole to prevent those convited of domestic violence from purchasing a firearm, and banning AR-15 style assault weapons from being imported into the country. | Supports the First Step Act; Opposes restricitng access to guns for people who might harm themselves or others as well as background checks or restrictions that would prevent concealed carry in schools; Opposes allowing gun manufacturers to be sued in court. |
| Education | Pushes for student loan debt forgiveness; Co-sponsored Senator Bernie Sanders' legislation to make two-year colleges free for all students and waive tuition for middle-class students attending four-year public universities; Has critisized Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law. | Opposes canceling student loan debt but back income-based repayment plans; Opposes teaching of systemic racism and favors teaching only traditional gender roles; Opposes allowing transgender students to use bathrooms or play on sports teams that align with their identified gender; Opposes access to gender-affirming care for youth. |
Independent Candidates
There are a few other Presidential candidates, who are not associated with the two major political parties, who may appear on your ballot on Election Day in November. They are as follows:
- Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is running as an Independent. He is apart of the famed political family and an anti-vaccine activist. He has shown some appeal to both Republicans and Democrats alike. You can visit Kennedy's official campaign website here, to find out more about him and what he hopes to accomplish.
- Cornel West, a progressive activist, is also running as an Independent in the Presidential election. You can visit West's official campaign website here, to find out more about him and what he hopes to accomplish.
- Jill Stein, a former Presidential candidate, will seek the Green Party's nomination. You can visit Stein's official campaign website here, to find out more about him and what he hopes to accomplish.
The Key States
Both parties are holding their conventions in the Midwest, demonstrating the value they are placing on Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin all of which went for Trump in 2016 and flipped to Biden in 2020. Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada are also closely divided as well as North Carolina, which has an increasingly diverse electorate. If you are a resident in any of these states, know that your vote is extremely important in the outcome of this Presidential election. Your voice deserves to be heard so make sure to get out and vote! For more information, visit this article from U.S. News.