Reeling from a tough loss in 2020, Republicans are hoping to reclaim control of the Oval Office in the upcoming 2024 presidential election. Joe Biden’s presidency has been full of fumbles and failures, with record inflation, an embarrassing withdrawal from Afghanistan, as well as a president who appears no longer mentally stable enough for the job. According to a recent Wall Street Journal poll, America is looking for a change with over 73% of Americans thinking that President Biden is too old for reelection.
“He had a lot of big hopes, and lots of promises, but he did not deliver on them,” Tate Morgan (’25) said.
This should give Republicans some hope, but that doesn’t exactly guarantee them the election, especially if the nominee is Donald Trump, who is being faced with 91 felony counts, and possible jail time.
Trump’s indictments come at a crucial time in the election season. It could be assumed that a candidate who is indicted on criminal charges would not be anyone’s top choice.
“I absolutely think that him being in jail will affect his re-election,” Morgan Seibold (’25) said.
After his most recent indictments from Fulton County, GA District Attorney Fani Willis on charges relating to the Georgia results of the 2020 election, he saw his largest single-day donation numbers. With Trump being the first former president to have his mugshot taken, he continues to gain support among Republicans, as well as Independents.
“His arrests could be problematic for him, but his supporters will be fine with it, and they aren’t career ending,” Morgan said.
As of now, former President Donald Trump is the Republican candidate getting the most support in recent polling at 70%, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis falling behind by over 40 percentage points. Other candidates such as businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and former US Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Nikki Haley are not even polling 5%. Trump has been gaining in the polls for most of this year, even with his 91 indictments.
In recent years, the older portion of Gen Z has been able to start registering to vote. We often hear during election season that the Gen Z vote is a priority to win, and it is true. In the 2022 Midterms, Gen Z had higher voter turnout than millennials and Gen X did in their midterm elections. Gen Z has grown up online which means that a Gen Z voter is able to keep up with news and politics much easier than their parents and grandparents could.
“I get most of my news from either CNN or TikTok, and I sometimes enjoy looking at certain blogs,” Seibold said.
In a recent poll by NPR, 30% of Gen Z aligned with the Democratic Party, with an advantage over Republicans by five points.
Every election season, candidates participate in debates. It is a way for voters to see how the different candidates compare to one another. So far, there have been two debates that the Republican candidates have completed.
“I think all debates help voters decide who they want to vote for,” Seibold said. “They want to see how the candidates react under high stress situations.”
It is notable that out of the eight candidates on stage, Donald Trump was not one of them, and skipped out on both debates. Instead, Trump did an interview on X with Tucker Carlson, and during the second debate, he opted to give a speech to the United Auto Workers (UAW) who are currently on strike.
There will be a third and final debate on Nov. 8 in Miami, Florida. After this, many candidates who aren’t picking up steam will begin to drop out, and remaining candidates will face off in the Iowa Primary. As it stands now, Trump will win the Republican nomination for the third time, and then face Biden for a 2020 rematch, with it looking to be a long and nasty one yet again. With the uncertainty of Trump’s pending legal battles, it could put a strain on voters, and could make some who are undecided stray away from him. Some analysts have said that choosing a less divisive candidate, such as Nikki Haley or Kristi Noem for VP, could help Trump’s chances. No matter who he runs with, the Republican Party needs to stop with the infighting in Congress, and fully unite with one candidate, so we can take back the White House in 2024.
