Tracking the 2024 presidential candidates

President Joe Biden launched his re-election campaign by urging Americans to “finish the job,” making a case for allowing his administration to continue to press its agenda and asserting himself as the country’s best option against a field of Republican candidates. In Biden’s campaign announcement, he said that he intends to continue to “fight for our democracy” against “MAGA extremists.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., son of Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy, is an environmental lawyer and author. Kennedy is a vocal anti-vaccine activist and leads the Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit group that has been suspended from Facebook and Instagram after spreading Covid misinformation. He has selected as his running mate Nicole Shanahan, a tech lawyer who will be able to contribute millions of her own money into funding the campaign.

Cornel West, progressive activist and author, is running as an independent. He initially announced his candidacy in June 2023 as a member of the People’s Party but decided to run for the Green Party nomination nine days later. When asked why he was not challenging Biden in the Democratic primary, West said that “neither party is speaking to the pressing needs of poor and working people.”

Jill Stein, physician and environmental activist, is running as a candidate for the Green Party. Stein launched her campaign with a video posted to Facebook, which criticized “both parties” and said that the existing two-party political system is “broken”. Before launching her own campaign, Stein worked as a transition coordinator on Cornel West's campaign for the Green Party nomination. She departed when West decided to run as an independent and announced her own candidacy. Stein was the Green Party nominee for president in 2012 and 2016.

Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida and a former U.S. representative, has long been viewed as the strongest potential challenger to Trump. He gained national attention and praise from the right for his pandemic response, along with his approach to issues such as immigration and LGBTQ rights. DeSantis has been reluctant to directly target Trump and has not said whether he would support him as the eventual nominee, instead focusing on criticisms of the Biden administration’s policies and tacking to Trump’s right on issues.

Asa Hutchinson, the former governor of Arkansas, has been critical of both the Biden and Trump administrations. He has said that another Trump presidential nomination would be the “worst scenario” for Republicans and called on Trump to “step aside” after the former president was indicted in New York. When asked if he would support Trump if he won the nomination, Hutchinson said, “I don't expect that he'll be the nominee, and I do expect that I will be supporting the nominee."

Vivek Ramaswamy is an entrepreneur and a conservative commentator who has cast himself as the “true outsider” seeking the GOP nomination. His campaign has been largely self-funded. Ramaswamy has said that he plans to take Trump’s agenda “even further.”

Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, ran unsuccessfully against Trump for the GOP nomination in 2016. A Trump critic, turned ally, turned critic again, Christie has said he won’t support the former president as the GOP nominee. “I am the viable Trump alternative,” he told The Daily Beast in late April.

Doug Burgum, the two-term governor of North Dakota, began his career as a software entrepreneur and sold a company to Microsoft in 2001. As governor, he has signed legislation restricting abortion access and limiting transgender health care for minors. Burgum, who said he plans to spend some his own fortune on his run, has not clarified his opinion on Trump or whether he would support him as the eventual nominee.

Tim Scott, who hails from the key early primary state of South Carolina, is the only Black Republican in the Senate. Scott has said that the Republican Party needs a candidate who can appeal to both Republicans and “people who don’t agree with us.” Scott has been critical of the Biden administration, saying that the U.S. has become “a nation in retreat.”

Former Vice President Mike Pence appeared unflinchingly loyal to his boss until Jan. 6, 2021, when a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol and threatened Pence’s life over his refusal to block the certification of the 2020 election results. Prior to joining Trump’s 2016 ticket, Pence served six terms in Congress and one term as governor of Indiana. As governor, Pence enacted legislation restricting abortion access as well as a controversial religious freedom law that LGBTQ rights advocates said was a license to discriminate. In a video announcing his 2024  bid, Pence criticized President Joe Biden by name and Trump by implication. He said in an interview with Fox News that he will support the eventual nominee.

Larry Elder is a conservative radio host who entered the political arena for the first time in 2021 when he ran unsuccessfully in the California gubernatorial recall election to remove Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. Elder has used his platform to discuss his opposition to abortion rights, mask mandates and the Black Lives Matter movement, among other issues. Elder has not been clear about whether he would support the eventual nominee, but has been critical of Trump and has voiced concerns about the former president’s ability to appeal to swing voters.

Businessman Perry Johnson has never held public office, but tried to enter the Michigan gubernatorial race in 2022. He was disqualified after failing to submit enough valid petition signatures. Johnson, who says he proudly supported Trump and would support him should he win the party’s nomination again, has built his career in quality standards — writing a number of texts on the guidelines and specifications for ensuring products or services meet customer and regulatory prerequisites — and describes himself as “a problem solver, a quality guru.”

Will Hurd, a retired CIA officer and former Texas congressman, has billed himself as a "common-sense Republican" for "complicated times," capable of wooing swing voters who have strayed from the party in recent elections. He said he was driven to run by a number of "defining challenges" confronting the United States, including China's rise, inflation and historic declines in school test scores. Hurd first won re-election to Congress in 2014 and announced he would retire ahead of the 2020 election. He was the lone Black Republican in the House when he left.

Francis Suarez has been the Republican mayor of Miami since 2017, having been elected overwhelmingly both times. Suarez, who is Cuban American, comes from a political family; his father, Xavier, was also a two-term mayor of the city. He has focused on attracting tech companies to Florida and reducing crime, and he has argued that he can help the party appeal to moderate voters with his focus on climate change. Suarez faces allegations that he inappropriately used his influence to help a real estate developer while he received payments from the company. His office has said the allegations are "false." 

Dean Phillips, a three-term congressman and former CEO, has been critical of Joe Biden’s bid for reelection and has raised concerns about the president’s age and his lackluster approval ratings. When asked about his plans in August, Phillips said "My real call to action right now is not about me. The call to action is to ask the president to pass the torch." Phillips has already missed the filing deadline to participate in the Nevada Democratic Primary, one of the first nominating contests of 2024.

Marianne Williamson is an author who gained notoriety for appearing on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” as Oprah’s spiritual adviser. Williamson ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination in 2020, dropping out in January 2020. Her 2024 campaign was briefly suspended on February 7, 2024 before "unsuspending" her campaign three weeks later. Williamson has never held political office.