The United States presidential election occurs once every 4 years, and for better or worse we now find ourselves once more confronted with the occasion. At this comparatively early stage of the race, it can be intimidating and difficult to keep track of political nominees and their key policies. But it cannot be overlooked, the primary elections are just as important as the final—as we can firmly vote on who will be nominated.
The first two nominees are indisputably the most recognizable: Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Joe Biden, as the incumbent, is a fairly safe bet for the Democratic nomination. The last time a sitting president was denied the party nomination was in 1856, when Franklin Pierce lost out to James Buchanan. Some of Biden’s main policies revolve around improving climate change efforts, lessening student loan debts and funding police combined with anti-gun laws. Although, Biden was already the oldest sitting president when elected in 2020, and this reporter can’t help but feel there are more able candidates from his party.
The second recognizable face, Trump, is the likely nomination for the Republican party. As former president, Donald Trump looks to become the second president in American history to serve two non-consecutive terms, Grover Cleveland being the only one to complete the feat in the 1885 election and 1893 election. Trump’s main policies revolve around defunding climate change acts, an ‘America first’ international and economic stance and the biggest planned deportation and border policing act in American history. Trump and his campaigns, while indisputably effective, have heightened political division, and leave me hoping he loses nomination to a different member from his party.
Perhaps the most compelling Republican candidate outside of Trump is Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and former ambassador to the United Nations. As she is quick to point out, in a recent poll from the Wall Street Journal she defeated Biden by 17% in favorability while Trump only won by 4%. However, she also leaves out that the poll was conducted over seven weeks ago and those results have yet to be replicated. Haley’s main policies revolve around increased United States involvement in international wars (supporting Ukraine and Israel), cutting income tax and by extension shrinking the federal government, and plans to lift restrictions on oil and gas. Though I disapprove of her international stance, I can’t help but find other stances of hers much more reasonable than her contemporaries. Unlike Trump, she believes in climate change.
Dean Phillips is running a “long-shot” campaign to try and achieve the Democratic nomination over Biden. The Minnesota representative openly admits his odds aren’t great, but as the New Hampshire primary shows, he is the current second-place candidate to Joe Biden. Phillips’s main policies revolve around security on the southern border while multiplying and clarifying paths to citizenship, pushing urgent action for climate change, and applying tax cuts for childcare, the elderly, and grocery bills. I find Phillips the most compelling of our listed candidates, though he seems to be least likely to earn the nomination.
While there certainly are other politicians currently in the running, and I encourage you to do more research on any candidates that interest you, the above candidates accounted for (in the New Hampshire primary) 97.7% of the Republican vote and 86.1% of the Democratic vote. Given the current two-party system the odds of a surprise candidate outside of the four listed above seem slim to none.
When comparing these politicians, there are unappealing truths that become present. What America needs and has needed for years is change, yet the two leading figures for the parties are former presidents over age 75. Joe Biden and Donald Trump have, to me, run their course politically, and neither should win the nomination.
The two candidates behind them, Dean Phillips and Nikki Haley respectively, are by comparison much more worthy of the position. Both in their mid to early fifties, Nikki Haley is the first Indian-American female to run for presidency and Dean Phillips presents reasonable paths forward on all issues he’s tackled. These two are more fitting for the presidency, and are more representative of modern America.
