Who is running for president in 2024?

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A once-crowded presidential field has now narrowed to its final contestants

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last updated 9 September 2024

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Election Day 2024 will be here in just two months, and a once-crowded presidential field has now narrowed to its final contestants. Here is a list of candidates on all sides of the aisle, though expect to see more names drop off as the race progresses.

Kamala Harris (D)

In what is perhaps one of the quickest rises to the nomination in U.S. history, Vice President Kamala Harris has gone from sitting in the vice presidential residence to being on the cusp of the White House in just over a month. Harris took up the mantle of the Democratic Party after President Joe Biden announced he was dropping out of the presidential race on July 21. "There are some people who think we should be a country of chaos, of fear, of hate. But us, we choose something different," Harris said in her campaign announcement video. In the first six weeks of her campaign, Harris "eclipsed the enthusiasm gap with the GOP and narrowed Trump's advantage on handling the economy and immigration," said USA Today. But almost every poll that has Harris in the lead also has her and Trump within the margin of error, meaning that a toss-up to the finish line is the most likely scenario come Election Day.

Months before his legal fortunes took a turn for the worse, former President Donald Trump stood before an adoring crowd at his Mar-a-Lago estate and made his third consecutive run for president official. "For millions of Americans, the past two years under Joe Biden have been a time of pain, hardship, anxiety, and despair," he told the room full of Republican aides and heavyweights. "In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States."

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On the same day Biden secured enough delegates for the Democratic nomination, the former president also secured the required delegates for the GOP nomination. Trump will carry the banner of the Republican Party into the general election on the back of 88 criminal indictments against him, and has since attempted to turn his attention to finding a suitable line of attack to use against Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Philosopher, scholar and activist Cornel West raised the perennial debate over third-party spoilers when he announced a run for president alongside the People's Party, then the Green Party, and now as an independent. "People are hungry for change," West wrote on X when announcing his switch to run as an independent. "They want good policies over partisan politics. We need to break the grip of the duopoly and give power to the people."

The Green Party has rarely had luck at the national level, but they will try again with Jill Stein, who is the party's presidential nominee for the third time. Stein was previously nominated by the Green Party in 2012 and 2016. Her longshot candidacy has been met with different reactions on both sides of the aisle. Many Republicans are working to "prop up third-party candidates" who could "offer liberal voters an alternative that could siphon away support from Vice President Kamala Harris," said The Associated Press. Democrats, however, have mostly reacted to Stein's candidacy negatively; Stein is a "useful idiot for Russia. After parroting Kremlin talking points and being propped up by bad actors in 2016 she’s at it again," DNC spokesperson Matt Corridoni said in a statement to The Bulwark.

Chase Oliver, a libertarian, announced his candidacy in April 2023, per Ballotpedia. Speaking at the Iowa State Fair, the 2022 U.S. Senate candidate out of Georgia described himself as "armed and gay," and urged a "cultural war ceasefire," per the Des Moines Register. "I don't care how you live, who you love, how you worship, how you express yourself, if you do it in peace, that's your business, not the government's," he said. Oliver is also pro-choice, supports the legalization of marijuana, and wants to see an increased focus on combating addiction and drug use in the U.S. Like Williamson, his odds of winning are so low that they are not displayed on Oddschecker.

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Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other Hollywood news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.

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