Republican former President Donald Trump will face Vice President Kamala Harris in the US presidential election on November 5, with both candidates making their final pitches in battleground states ahead of what is expected to be a tight race.
There are also several hopeful third parties active. These are the candidates:
Democratic Party
Kamala Harris
Harris60, went on to win the Democratic Party nomination Biden ended his re-election bidallowing Democrats to present a renewed American vision in contrast to Trump’s agenda as they seek to reinvigorate their coalition of young voters, people of color and suburban women.
Harris, a former U.S. senator, California attorney general and San Francisco prosecutor, became the first woman and person of color to serve as vice president after Biden selected her as his 2020 running mate. If she wins, she would becoming the first woman to become president in the country’s 248-year history.
Opinion polls show that Harris is in a close race against Trump. She leads the former president nationally by 44% to 43%, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on October 29.
Other investigations show that Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walzin tight races between the seven battlegrounds that could decide the election: Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, North Carolina, Michigan and Nevada.
During the final weeks of the campaign, Harris has renewed his efforts to portray Trump as one threat to democracy after making ominous comments about “the enemy within‘ the United States and threatened to deploy the army in its own country. She also agreed with the assessment Trump’s former chief of staff, John Kellythat her opponent is a fascist, a characterization that Trump and his allies rejected.
Harris 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, a ban on price gouging, more affordable housing and a new child tax credit, as well as efforts to boost domestic manufacturing. She proposed raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% and ending the tax on tips.
She promised stricter immigration and fentanyl controls at the border. Her climate and energy positions are similar to those of Biden, who made fighting climate change a top priority.
Harris is seen as tech-friendly even as she tackled alleged competition and privacy issues, and she has tried to reassure donors that she supports capitalism.
On foreign policy, Harris is expected to largely stick to Biden’s playbook on key issues like Ukraine, China and Iran. She has also pressured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for an agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza, but has also taken a tough stance on Hamas, saying the militant group must be “eliminated” and remains loyal to the American policy of arming Israel.
Major labor groups, including the Service Employees International Union, the United Auto Workers and the American Federation of Teachers, supported her. Former U.S. military officials, business leaders and numerous former top Republican officials have also endorsed her. (LIST: Celebrities supporting Kamala Harris for US President)
Republican Party
Donald Trump
Trump78, secured the Republican nomination in July before making his third consecutive run for the White House loses his 2020 re-election bid.
Trump continues to repeat his false claim that the Democrats have stolen the US Elections 2020 as he campaigns amid unprecedented legal challenges, including a new US indictment for attempting to undermine his loss to Biden.
During his time in office from 2017 to 2021, he framed his indictments in four criminal cases as a political attack, vowing “retaliation” against perceived enemies and increasingly embracing dystopian rhetoric.
Trump became the first former US president to be convicted of a crime in New York City in May. He was also the first president to be impeached twice. He denies any wrongdoing.
Trump, who has chosen U.S. Senator JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate, has refused to commit to this accepting the 2024 results or to rule out possible political violence while he and Republicans lay the groundwork to contest a possible loss. His false claims about voter fraud in battleground Pennsylvania have raised concerns that he could again try to overturn the election results if he loses.
Trump has also promised to pardon supporters imprisoned over the January 6, 2021, attacks. attack on the US Capitol and threatened to sue election officials, donors, Google and others if he wins.
He said he wouldn’t run again if he lost.
Trump is the oldest American presidential candidate and would become the country’s second-oldest president. He faced two murder attempts, one after the other Campaign rally in Pennsylvania in July and another in September near one of his golf courses in Florida.
The extensive ‘Project 2025’ policy agenda of Trump-friendly think tanks would focus, among other things, on the independence of the Justice Department. Trump has tried to distance himself from the project, despite the involvement of his former aides and Vance. He also wants the power to replace federal civil service employees with loyalists.
On foreign policy, Trump has promised that will fundamentally change the US relationship with NATO and to resolve the war in Ukraine with possible peace talks that may involve Kiev ceding territory. He has said Hamas must be “crushed” and pledged to take tougher action against Iran, but has offered few details or policy proposals.
Trump has made immigration a top issue, promising mass deportations, including legal Haitian immigrants granted temporary protected status in Springfield, Ohio. He would end birthrightism and expand the travel ban on people from certain countries.
He takes credit for the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down Roe v. Wade protections and struck down abortion laws should be left to the states. Trump said he does not support the ban on contraception.
On the economy, Trump would impose sweeping tariffs on imported goods and on specific companies and countries. He promised to end taxes on tips and overtime, make emergency generators tax deductible in states hit by natural disasters, lower corporate tax rates and open federal lands to foreign businesses and homes. He has also pledged to undo much of Biden’s work on climate change.
Trump has faced criticism, including from some Republicans, for personal attacks on Harris, including on her race and gender.
Trump 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 also supported his election bid. (LIST: Celebrities supporting Donald Trump for US President)
Third parties and independents
Chase Oliver, Libertarian Party
While the Libertarian Party invited Trump to its convention, it ultimately chose 39-year-old Oliver. Oliver ran for a seat in the Georgia Senate in 2022 and received 2% of the vote.
Jill Stein, Green Party
Stein, 74, a physician who works under the Green Party in 2016runs again in 2024.
She launched her current campaign accusing Democrats of betraying their promises “over and over again for working people, youth and the climate – while Republicans aren’t even making such promises in the first place.”
Cornel West, independent
The political activist, philosopher and academic is attempting to attract more progressive, Democratic-oriented voters.
West, 71, initially ran for the Green Party, but said in October that people “want good policy over party politics” and declared herself an independent. He has promised to end poverty and guarantee housing. – Rappler.com
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