The 2024 Democratic Party primaries are in full swing, with elections having been held in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada so far. There are only two candidates still running, and it’s shaping up to be a very one-sided race. Incumbent President Joe Biden is polling far ahead of his opponent, businessman Dean Phillips, who is a representative from Minnesota.
Joe Biden, as the current president, has a high chance of winning the nomination. Since FDR, only four presidents have lost re-election. Biden has also touted he’s the only candidate to have beaten Donald Trump, the likely Republican nominee. Before becoming president, Joe Biden was the Vice President under former President Barack Obama (2009-2017) and a U.S. Senator from Delaware (1973-2009).
As president, Biden has instituted numerous economic reforms; the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act and the American Rescue Plan Act are just a few. Despite economists’ dire post-pandemic forecasts for 2022 and 2023, Biden’s implementation of what has been dubbed “Bidenomics” has allowed the U.S. economy to avoid these recessionary predictions. He has also made Juneteenth a national holiday, appointed the first African-American woman to the Supreme Court and rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement. Biden has been thought of—and characterizes himself as—a fairly centrist politician and is willing to work with Republicans on many issues, like the new immigration package, but he has expressed his disdain for the extreme members of the GOP who support former President Trump, citing their own inability to compromise on most issues.
Opposing Biden is Dean Phillips, a businessman and the current Representative for Minnesota’s 3rd House District. He inherited his family business, Phillips Distilling Company, and is the former owner of the gelato company Talenti. He also owns Penny’s Coffee, a small chain in the Twin Cities. According to his campaign website, Phillips supports Medicare for All, stricter gun control laws (including more thorough background checks) and more streamlined immigration processes.
Virginia’s primary is, per the norm, on Super Tuesday, a day on which roughly a third of states hold their primary elections. Super Tuesday is often the last major indicator of who the candidates for each party will be due to the large quantities of convention delegates awarded on this date. This year, Super Tuesday is Mar. 5, and for new voters you must register by Feb. 12 in order to vote in the primary. To check where your polling place is, you can go to the Virginia Department of Elections website. (elections.virginia.gov/casting-a-ballot/polling-place-lookup/)
With a field of only two candidates and very imbalanced odds, the primaries mostly serve to reaffirm Biden’s immense lead. Biden’s opponent will most likely be former president Donald Trump, who continues to rack up delegates in the Republican primary, even amidst his legal battles. We can only wait anxiously until Nov. 5 to see whether we will have a septuagenarian or an octogenarian as our next POTUS.