Republican former President Donald Trump is set to face off against Vice President Kamala Harris in the US presidential elections on Tuesday. Both candidates are making their final appeals in key swing states, with expectations of a closely contested race. However, several third-party candidates are also vying for the top position. Here is the complete list of candidates in the 2024 race for the White House.
Kamala Harris, 60, secured the Democratic Party's nomination after President Joe Biden withdrew his re-election bid. This allows Democrats to present a fresh vision for America, contrasting with Trump's agenda. They aim to revitalize their coalition of young voters, people of color, and suburban women. Harris, a former US senator, California attorney general, and San Francisco prosecutor, made history as the first woman and person of color to serve as vice president. If elected, she would become the first woman to hold the presidency in the nation's 248-year history.
Opinion polls indicate a tight race between Harris and Trump. A Reuters/Ipsos poll published on October 29 shows Harris leading nationally 44% to 43%. Other surveys suggest a close contest in seven battleground states: Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, North Carolina, Michigan, and Nevada. In the final weeks of the campaign, Harris has intensified efforts to portray Trump as a threat to democracy, following his comments about 'the enemy within' and threats to deploy the military domestically.
Harris has also aligned with Trump's former chief of staff, John Kelly, who characterized Trump as a fascist, a claim Trump and his allies deny. Harris has emphasized reproductive rights and personal freedoms, supporting a national law to ensure safe abortion access. Her economic plans include tax cuts for most Americans, bans on price gouging, more affordable housing, a new child tax credit, and efforts to boost domestic manufacturing. She proposes increasing the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21% and ending taxes on tips. Harris has promised tougher immigration and fentanyl controls at the border.
Her climate and energy policies align with Biden's, focusing on combating climate change. Harris is viewed as tech-friendly, addressing anticompetition and privacy issues while reassuring donors of her support for capitalism. On foreign policy, Harris is expected to largely follow Biden's approach on key issues like Ukraine, China, and Iran. She has pressured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a Gaza ceasefire but remains firm against Hamas, advocating for its 'elimination' and supporting US policy of arming Israel.
Key labor groups, former military officials, company executives, and numerous former top Republican officials have endorsed Harris. Donald Trump, 78, secured the Republican nomination in July for his third consecutive run for the White House after losing the 2020 election. He continues to falsely claim that Democrats stole the 2020 election, facing unprecedented legal challenges, including a recent US indictment for efforts to overturn his loss to Biden.
Trump has been indicted in four criminal cases, which he portrays as political attacks, vowing 'retribution' against perceived enemies and adopting increasingly dystopian rhetoric. He became the first former US president to be convicted of a crime in May in New York City and was the first president to be impeached twice. Trump denies any wrongdoing. He chose US Senator JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate and has refused to commit to accepting the 2024 results or rule out political violence.
Trump's false claims about voter fraud in Pennsylvania raise concerns he could attempt to overturn election results again if he loses. He has promised to pardon supporters imprisoned for the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol and threatened to prosecute election officials, donors, Google, and others if he wins. Trump said he would not run again if he loses. He is the oldest US presidential nominee and would become the nation's second oldest president. He faced two assassination attempts, one in July at a Pennsylvania campaign rally and another in September near his Florida golf course.
Trump's 'Project 2025' policy agenda, supported by think tanks, targets the Justice Department's independence, among other plans. Trump has distanced himself from the project despite his former aides' and Vance's involvement. He also seeks the power to replace federal civil service workers with loyalists. On foreign policy, Trump vows to fundamentally alter the US relationship with NATO and resolve the Ukraine war through possible peace talks that might require Kyiv to cede territory. He has said Hamas must be 'crushed' and vowed to be tougher on Iran but has provided few details or policy proposals.
Trump has made immigration a top issue, promising mass deportations, including legal Haitian immigrants with Temporary Protected Status in Springfield, Ohio. He would end birthright citizenship and expand a travel ban on people from certain countries. He takes credit for the US Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade protections, saying abortion laws should be left to the states. Trump said he does not support banning birth control. On the economy, Trump would impose sweeping tariffs on imported goods and specific companies and countries. He pledged to end taxes on tips and overtime, make emergency generators tax-deductible in disaster-hit states, lower corporate tax rates, and open federal lands to foreign companies and housing.
He has also vowed to undo much of Biden’s climate change work. Trump has faced criticism, including from some Republicans, for personal attacks against Harris, including over her race and gender. He appointed former Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to his transition team and said he would tap billionaire supporter Elon Musk to address government efficiency. The National Fraternal Order of Police and other police groups have backed his election bid.
Chase Oliver, 39, was selected by the Libertarian Party after initially inviting Trump to its convention. Oliver ran for a Georgia state Senate seat in 2022 and garnered 2% of the vote. Jill Stein, 74, a physician who ran under the Green Party in 2016, is running again in 2024. She launched her campaign accusing Democrats of betraying their promises 'for working people, youth, and the climate again and again - while Republicans don’t even make such promises in the first place.'
Cornel West, 71, a political activist, philosopher, and academic, is making a bid to attract more progressive, Democratic-leaning voters. West initially ran as a Green Party candidate but declared himself an independent in October, promising to end poverty and guarantee housing.
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