Former Republican President Donald Trump will face Vice President Kamala Harris in the U.S. presidential election on November 5, with both candidates making their final pitches in crucial states ahead of what is expected to be a close contest.
Several third-party candidates are also running. Here are the candidates.
Democratic Party- Kamala Harris
Harris, 60, secured the Democratic Party’s nomination when Biden withdrew his reelection attempt, allowing Democrats to showcase a reinvigorated American vision in contrast to Trump’s agenda as they aim to resurrect its coalition of young voters, people of color, and suburban women.
Harris, a former United States senator, California attorney general, and San Francisco prosecutor, became the first woman and person of color to serve as vice president when Biden chose her as his 2020 running partner. If she succeeds, she will become the country’s first female president in its 248-year history.
According to opinion surveys, Harris and Trump are in a close battle. According to a Reuters/Ipsos survey released on October 29, she leads the former president by 44% to 43% countrywide.
Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, are in tight races in seven battleground states that could decide the election. Harris has renewed efforts to paint Trump as a threat to democracy after he made ominous comments about “the enemy within” the United States and threatened to deploy the military domestically.
She has made reproductive rights and personal freedoms a rallying cry and supports a national law codifying access to safe abortion. 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 proposed increasing the corporate tax rate to 28% and ending taxes on tips. Harris has promised tougher immigration and fentanyl controls at the border and is seen as tech-friendly despite taking on alleged anticompetition and privacy issues.
On foreign policy, Harris is expected to stick largely to Biden’s playbook on key issues such as Ukraine, China, and Iran. She has also pressured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a Gaza ceasefire deal but has taken a hard line against Hamas and remains committed to the U.S. policy of arming Israel.
Republican Party–Donald Trump
Trump secured the Republican nomination for his third consecutive White House run after losing his 2020 reelection bid. He has faced unprecedented legal challenges, including a fresh U.S. indictment over efforts to subvert his loss to Biden. Trump has cast his indictments in four criminal cases as a political attack, vowing “retribution” against perceived enemies and embracing increasingly dystopian rhetoric. He became the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a crime in May and was also the first president to be impeached twice.
Trump chose U.S. Senator JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate and refused to commit to accepting the 2024 results or rule out possible political violence. His false claims about voter fraud in battleground Pennsylvania have raised concerns that he could again try to overturn election results if he loses. Trump has promised to pardon supporters imprisoned for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and threatened to prosecute election officials, donors, Google, and others if he wins.
Trump is the oldest U.S. presidential nominee and would become the nation’s second oldest president. He has faced two assassination attempts, one at a Pennsylvania campaign rally in July and another near one of his Florida golf courses. Trump-friendly think tanks’ sweeping “Project 2025” policy agenda targets the Justice Department’s independence, and he wants the power to replace federal civil service workers with loyalists.
On foreign policy, Trump has vowed to fundamentally alter the U.S. relationship with NATO and resolve the Ukraine war with possible peace talks. He has made immigration a top issue, promising mass deportations, ending birthright citizenship, and expanding travel bans.
Third Parties & Independents
Libertarian Party-Chase Oliver
While the Libertarian Party invited Trump to its convention, it ultimately selected Oliver, 39. Oliver ran for a Georgia state Senate seat in 2022 and garnered 2% of the vote.
Green Party-Jill Stein
Stein, 74, a physician who ran under the Green Party in 2016, is running again in 2024.
She launched her current 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.”
Independent-Cornel West
The political activist, philosopher and academic is making a bid to attract more progressive, Democratic-leaning voters.
West, 71, initially ran as a Green Party candidate but in October said people “want good policies over partisan politics” and declared himself an independent. He has promised to end poverty and guarantee housing.
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Source: NDTV
