As we know, the presidential debate season of 2024 started this January on the 15th and is soon to be finalized later in September. This year’s running candidates as of 2024 from the Republican party are Donald Trump and Nikki Haley and the candidates running for the Democratic party are Joe Biden, Marianne Williamson, and Dean Phillips. Moving forward this year’s elections sparks questions about whether this is another election where voters are faced with a challenge on electing candidates they don’t like.
Historically, back in the 2020 elections both Trump and Biden became known for being controversial after being disliked by the public and having different views on them both. This trend, unfortunately, continues after Trump was impeached twice and faced with 4 criminal charges for attempting to overturn the 2020 elections. Moreover, Trump used his charges as an advantage increasing his popularity among Republicans and raising funds to run again. His strategy became successful once he secured the Republican’s initial nominating contest with 51% of Iowa’s votes.
According to the “Iowa’s Caucus Results”, Trump had won Iowa’s caucuses coming in first winning 51% of Iowa’s delegates on January 16, De Santis securing 2nd place with 21% and Nikki Haley coming last with 19% votes. A New York Times Polls survey states, that Biden had become less popular in 5 states including Nevada, Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, as of November 2023 before the election arguing that Biden is “too old” to be fit as president and fails to handle the state of the economy. However, Biden made history on Tuesday when he won the New Hamshire primary as a write-in (without his name on the ballot) with 67% of democrats voting without any campaign. As we know Biden is not campaigning because he’s automatically running and was still able to outwin his democratic challengers, Dean Phillips (19%) and Marianne Williamson (4%) who were both campaigning in New Hampshire that night.
An issue that the country is facing in this year’s election is losing the votes of the black community and young audiences. According to a report by Harvard Youth Polls, it is said that Americans through the ages 18-26 are less likely to vote in this election due to the controversy between Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump in the 2020 elections.
This sparks tension in the democratic party as the majority of votes are backed up by young audiences and black communities according to CNN Biden’s approval went down by 20 points compared to his first approval of 87% to 67%. Furthermore, 80% of Hispanics are young audiences and if they do not vote these minority groups may have just ruined this election tossing away the impact it can have on their future. The polls strongly show that Biden is losing young voters by a lot hopefully and Biden’s campaign must surely secure the majority of votes from his young audiences. As many of us students at ELARA are beginning to pre-register to vote it is highly encouraged to take every election very seriously when it counts. This includes voting not just for presidential elections but also voting for school boards, local districts, the House of Representatives, the Senate, etc. These different positions all affect the daily lives of students and civilians.
On January 19, I hosted an interview with one of the government teachers here at ELARA, Ms. Shar, to briefly talk about politics highlighting the significance and impact voting can have in our democracy. “It’s not always about voting for your favorite person” explains Ms. Shar, “It is about ensuring that the person you dislike does not win”. Her main objective in teaching was to instill in her students the belief that everyone, regardless of age, has a responsibility to participate in politics and voice their ideas. She further explains how encouraging others to become politically engaged and express their opinions can inspire activism based on historical events is proven instances where young individuals have taken the lead in driving social change.
In my opinion, people must be involved in politics and be fully aware that even though Trump is winning by-polls there can still be a possibility Biden could win in November. It’s important to keep in mind that Trump’s 4 years of presidency impacted our country with the consequences of his actions. Trump’s behavior indicates a disregard for democracy, as he openly mocks it rather than represents its principles. Voting is a crucial aspect of our democracy, reflecting the true sentiments of our country towards the government. With that said there are uncertainties surrounding Trump’s eligibility to run for president due to his two impeachments, numerous criminal charges, and his involvement in fraud. I strongly believe that as a community we should assist young voters by guiding the voting process. This will bring us closer to showing support for the democratic party, especially as a Hispanic group. It is important to remember that not voting is essentially supporting Donald Trump. If we abstain from voting the opposing side will emerge to secure the election of 2024 and it will be too late to make a difference.