2024 Presidential Candidates
Published June 20, 2024
Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee who will face President Joe Biden in November. Here’s a breakdown of all the 2024 presidential candidates.
Joe Biden*
Age81
PartyDemocrat
BornScranton, Pennsylvania
President Joe Biden launched his reelection campaign in April 2023, describing the contest between him and former President Donald Trump as a stark choice for voters between the continuation of democracy in America and its possible destruction. He is the oldest president to ever hold office and would be 86 at the end of a second term. He is married to Jill Biden and has two living children, Hunter and Ashley. His first wife and a daughter died in a car crash in 1972 and his son Beau Biden died of brain cancer in 2015.
Past experience
Biden earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware and a law degree from Syracuse University. He had a brief career in law and local public office before being elected to the US Senate in 1972, a position he held until being sworn in as vice president under President Barack Obama in 2009.
Key campaign promises
Biden has pitched his second term as a continuation of his first - “let’s finish this job” was a common refrain in his reelection announcement and in subsequent speeches - and is vowing to defend rights such as abortion protections that some Republicans have threatened to erode. If reelected, Biden has said he would also protect America’s image on the world stage, preserve democracy at home and deliver on climate benchmarks.
🔗 Biden’s campaign promises so far
*Incumbent
Donald Trump
Age78
PartyRepublican
BornQueens, New York
Former President Donald Trump launched his bid to reclaim the White House in November 2022, aiming to become only the second commander in chief to win two nonconsecutive terms. Trump continues to deny the outcome of the 2020 election that he lost to Joe Biden and promotes baseless conspiracy theories about election fraud. He was twice impeached by the US House of Representatives, including for his role in inciting the deadly January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol following his electoral defeat. In May 2024, Trump was found guilty of all charges at his New York hush money criminal trial. He also faces charges in three other cases, including over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving office.
Past experience
Trump graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in economics. Before launching his successful 2016 presidential bid, Trump was a real estate developer, businessman and a reality television star as host of “The Apprentice.” He has five children and is married to Melania Trump.
Key campaign promises
If he wins another term, Trump has said he would overhaul key factions of the federal government and slash social safety net programs. He has also vowed retribution against his political opponents and has said he would appoint a special prosecutor to “go after” Biden and his family.
Third-party candidates
These are the candidates outside of the Republican Party and the Democratic Party who could be on the presidential ballot.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Age70
PartyIndependent
BornWashington, DC
The Kennedy family scion first entered the race in April 2023, challenging President Joe Biden in the Democratic primary. But that October, seeing his path to overtake Biden blocked, he switched to an independent run. Kennedy, along with running mate Nicole Shanahan, has sought to appeal to voters dissatisfied with both the Democratic and Republican parties. He frequently accuses Biden and former President Donald Trump of increasing government spending, prolonging US involvement in foreign conflicts and enacting policies beneficial to large corporations. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Kennedy drew national attention for spreading false information about the coronavirus, vaccines and public health measures.
Past experience
Kennedy worked as an attorney for the environmental nonprofit Riverkeeper. He also was an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council and president of the Waterkeeper Alliance. He served as chairman of Children’s Health Defense, which is known for promoting anti-vaccination rhetoric.
Key campaign promises
Kennedy has promised to withdraw US support for Ukraine and has pledged to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. He’s vowed to end the “chronic disease epidemic.” He’s also said he would enact a five-year lobbying ban on former government officials. And Kennedy has pledged to sign on his first day in office an executive order stating that “any government official who lies” would lose their job.
Cornel West
Age71
PartyIndependent
BornTulsa, Oklahoma
When West announced his presidential bid in June 2023, he sought to run on the People’s Party line, before pivoting to seek the Green Party nomination. Months later, he abandoned the party process altogether to run as an independent. The progressive scholar and his running mate, professor and activist Melina Abdullah, have sought support from disaffected Democrats who oppose Biden’s support for Israel’s military operation in Gaza.
Past experience
West has worked as a professor at Union Theological Seminary several times throughout the years, with his most recent stint beginning in 2021. He also has worked as a professor at Yale, Princeton and Harvard.
Key campaign promises
West has said he would pressure Israel into agreeing to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and to withdrawing from Palestinian territory. He’s also said he would cut off all US aid to Ukraine and push to abolish NATO. He’s pledged to enact free health care for all US residents. West has also said he would discontinue all oil and gas leasing projects on federal lands. He is committed to the payment of reparations to all Black US residents.
Jill Stein
Age74
PartyGreen Party
BornChicago, Illinois
Stein originally served as Cornel West’s campaign manager during his brief stint as a Green Party candidate. But shortly after he switched to an independent run, Stein stepped forward to seek the Green nomination herself. Her campaign has largely focused on combatting President Joe Biden’s support for Israel’s war effort in Gaza. In April, she was arrested at a protest at Washington University in St. Louis amid a nationwide series of boycotts calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Past experience
Prior to launching her political career, Stein worked as a physician and was an environmental activist. She was then the Green-Rainbow Party nominee for Massachusetts governor in 2002 and 2010, as well as the party’s nominee for Massachusetts secretary of the commonwealth in 2006. She was the Green Party’s presidential candidate in 2012 and 2016.
Key campaign promises
Stein has proposed a climate policy that goes further than progressive Democrats’ “Green New Deal,” pushing the US to achieve zero carbon emissions on a faster timeline. She has pledged to withdraw US support for Israel and Ukraine. She’s in favor of guaranteed free public education from pre-K through college. Stein has also said she would cancel all medical debt as well as double the number of Supreme Court justices and subject them to 18-year term limits.
Chase Oliver
Age38
PartyLibertarian Party
BornNashville, Tennessee
Oliver secured the Libertarian nomination after seven rounds of voting at the party’s convention in May 2024. He overcame efforts to block his candidacy by a growing party faction that fielded candidates willing to embrace far-right positions on issues such as immigration and transgender care. Oliver, who visited all 50 states ahead of the Libertarian convention, was sharply critical of Donald Trump’s and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s efforts to court Libertarian voters earlier this year.
Past experience
Prior to launching his political career, he worked in the restaurant industry and then the corporate maritime trade industry, according to an Indiana newspaper. He also was a political activist who opposed the war in Iraq. He was the Libertarian nominee for Georgia’s 5th Congressional District in 2020, and the party’s nominee for US Senate in Georgia in 2022.
Key campaign promises
Oliver has called for simplifying the pathway to citizenship for immigrants and expanding work visas. He’s pledged to withdraw the US from all foreign conflicts, including cutting support for Ukraine and Israel. He’s in favor of eliminating the Federal Reserve. He’s committed to federally decriminalizing marijuana use and pardoning all nonviolent drug offenders and has said he would push Congress to decriminalize possession and use of all drugs.
