Kamala Harris is the current Vice President of the United States. Harris served as a deputy district attorney and then district attorney for Oakland, California. She was elected as the Attorney General of California in 2010. She was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016 and represented California there for three years before leaving her seat to become Vice President.
Tim Walz is the current Governor of Minnesota. Walz enlisted in the Army National Guard after high school and served for 24 years. He also graduated from Chadron State College. Walz was a high school social studies teacher and football coach. He represented Minnesota's first congressional district in the House of Representatives for 12 years.
Donald Trump accumulated his wealth by building hotels, golf courses, and casinos. He also starred in NBC's The Apprentice. Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016 to become President of the United States. During his presidency, he was impeached twice and acquitted twice. Since his presidency, he has been charged in four separate criminal cases. He was found guilty in one case, had another case dismissed, and is awaiting trial in the other two cases.
J.D. Vance was elected as a U.S. Senator for Ohio in 2022. He published a best-selling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, about his experiences growing up in Appalachia, in 2016. Vance joined the U.S. Marine Corps after high school and served in Iraq. He later attended the Ohio State University and Yale Law School before working as an attorney and for investment firms.
The President of the United States serves as the head of state and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The president has a vice-president who is prepared to take over the presidency if needed. The president also appoints the heads of federal agencies, which handle the day-to-day enforcement and administration of federal laws. Together, the president, vice president, and cabinet form the executive branch of government, which is responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws written by Congress.
U.S. presidents serve four-year terms and are limited to serving two terms. Presidents are not directly elected by the U.S. population. Instead, the country uses a system called the Electoral College. Learn more about the Electoral College on the About Elections page of this guide.
Abortion
Calls for Congress to pass legislation to codify the right to an abortion in federal law. As a senator, Harris cosponsored legislation that would have banned common state-level restrictions on reproductive rights. She has taken the lead role in championing abortion rights for the Biden administration,.
Climate Change
Wants to sue big businesses that pollute for the harm they cause in communities. She supported the Biden administration's return to the Paris Agreement, as well as efforts to phase out gas-powered vehicles.
Criminal Justice
Harris is a former prosecutor and state attorney general. She supports criminal justice reform efforts that disproportionately affect people of color, including ending mandatory minimum sentences, cash bail, and the death penalty. As senator, she introduced a police reform bill following the murder of George Floyd.
Democracy and Rule of Law
As Vice President, led efforts to pass federal voting rights legislation, which ultimately failed in the Senate. Supported the creation of an Election Threats Task Force that addresses threats to election workers and advocates for challenging state voting restrictions in court. Harris has condemned Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Economy and Trade
Calls for making health care, child care, elder care, and family leave more affordable and available. Harris promoted the Biden administration's infrastructure bill and funding for small businesses. She also advocates for increasing the corporate income tax rate to 35% and providing a tax credit of up to $6000 for low and middle-income families.
Education
Supports universal pre-K and debt-free college. Harris also aims to increase teacher pay and investments in HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). She supported the Biden administration's attempts to cancel billions in student loan debt.
Foreign Policy
Supports Israel's right to self-defense but says the situation in Gaza is a humanitarian crisis and has called for a cease-fire. She advocates for a two-state solution to the crisis. Harris advocates for sending weapons and aid to Ukraine against Russia's invasion. She has signaled that she would continue the Biden administration's support for NATO and improving international alliances.
Gun Control
Led the Federal Office of Gun Violence Prevention as vice president and pursued gun safety measures as the attorney general of California. She has also worked to expand background checks for firearms and encouraged states with red flag laws to use federal resources to enact them.
Health Care
Calls to preserve the Affordable Care Act. Harris also supports lowering prescription drug costs by allowing the federal government to set a fair price for any drug sold for a cheaper price in economically comparable countries.
Immigration
Supports a bill that would make it harder for asylum seekers to enter the country, give the president more powers to turn away migrants in some circumstances, and fund new border security agent positions. Harris voted against Trump's border wall as a senator.
LGBTQ+ Rights
As a district attorney in San Francisco, Harris prosecuted violence against LGBTQ+ people as hate crimes. She supports transgender rights, including the Biden administration's expansion of Title IX to cover trans people.
Taxes
Aims to end the tax cuts enacted under Trump that benefit wealthy Americans. Harris has a record of proposing tax increases on businesses and wealthy Americans, but she has not yet released a tax policy platform for the 2024 election.
Abortion
Takes credit for overturning Roe v. Wade after appointing three conservative judges to the Supreme Court. Supports states' rights on abortion legislation and says he would not support a federal ban on abortion. He has declined to say whether he would try to limit access to the abortion pill mifepristone.
Climate Change
Has called climate change a "hoax" and aims for the U.S. to have the cheapest energy and electricity in the world. Trump would re-exit the Paris Climate Accords, increase oil drilling on public lands, offer tax breaks to producers of fossil fuels, and end subsidies and regulations designed to mitigate climate change.
Criminal Justice
Trump promotes a tough-on-crime approach. He supports severe treatment of protesters while accusing the Justice Department of unfairly prosecuting January 6 rioters and pursuing politically-motivated criminal charges against himself.
Democracy and Rule of Law
Refused to concede after losing the 2020 presidential election and promoted conspiracy theories about election fraud that culminated in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump has vowed to be a dictator on day one of a potential second term, and plans to free imprisoned Capitol rioters. If re-elected, he plans to use the Justice Department to target his political rivals.
Economy and Trade
Favors extending tax cuts enacted in 2017 under his administration. Trump also supports an across-the-board tariff on all imported goods. Trump wants Congress to expand presidential powers to implement tariffs.
Education
Plans to eliminate the Education Department if re-elected. Trump also favors restoring "parental rights," eliminating teacher tenure, revisiting U.S. history curriculum standards, and allowing universal school choice. He celebrated the Supreme Court's decision to limit affirmative action in college admissions. Trump would not forgive student debt and pushed for cuts to programs that assist with student loan forgiveness.
Foreign Policy
Supports Israel but is critical of their tactics. Trump has also criticized the aid the U.S. has sent to Ukraine and has vowed to end the war by negotiating, which would include Ukraine ceding territory to Russia. He questions NATO's value and would refuse to defend member nations who do not meet their military spending targets.
Gun Control
Would not enact any new gun control restricts if re-elected. Trump also claims to be the "most pro-gun, pro-Second Amendment president." He has argued that mental health problems, not guns, are to blame for mass shootings.
Health Care
Attempted to repeal the Affordable Care Act while president and cut federal support for state marketplaces. As president, Trump approved new rules to allow drug importation from other countries in an effort to lower costs.
Immigration
Plans to conduct the largest deportation in U.S. history and revive a travel ban of citizens from Muslim-majority countries. Trump hopes to implement a new "ideological screening" for immigrants and end birthright citizenship for people born in the U.S. whose parents were in the country illegally. As president, Trump oversaw the expansion of the wall on the U.S. - Mexico border in an effort to stop illegal border crossings there.
LGBTQ+ Rights
Opposes expanding transgender rights. If re-elected, Trump plans to stop gender-affirming care for minors and ban teachers from discussing transitioning with students. During his previous administration, Trump barred transgender people from serving in the military and considered defining gender as a biological condition determined at birth.
Taxes
Plans to extend the tax cuts that were passed during his previous administration, including cutting the corporate tax rate and increasing the standard deduction and child tax credit.
The United States has a two-party political system: the vast majority of voters will vote for candidates from either the Democratic or Republican party. Therefore, this page focuses on the Democratic and Republican nominees. However, presidential candidates from additional parties may appear on the ballot.
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