Let’s take a look at who’s on the ballot for the 2024 presidential election.

Former President Donald Trump is running for office again, despite the prior impeachments and pending lawsuits. Trump wants to restore safety, protect parent’s rights and ban abortion at the national level. While he claims he is “pro-life”, he aims to come to an agreement with both sides and find a compromise with the issue of abortion. Trump plans to pardon many people who were arrested in the Jan. 6 attack on the capital, and he claims he can “rebuild the greatest economy in history”. He also aims to start a war on Mexican drug cartels, claiming they are running Mexico, and has vowed to deploy all necessary military assets to eradicate them. Protection under the first amendment is important to most candidates—advocating for free speech even when it is inaccurate. The 2024 Trump administration would remove all federal funding from labeling any information as “unfactual”. Trump is currently leading the Republican polls with 61.5%.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (2019-Present) is also running for the Republican Party. While DeSantis is best known for Florida’s house bill 1557, commonly known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, there is no evidence of him planning to enact this on a national scale. DeSantis is currently continuing his feud with Disney, and is actively fighting their lawsuit claiming DeSantis’s bill is impacting Disney’s first amendment rights. Following the repeal of Roe V. Wade, the Florida governor signed a six-week abortion ban for the state, and if elected, plans to enact this nationwide. DeSantis plans to leave all social security benefits as-is. The United States has been very involved in the Russia-Ukraine war that has been plaguing Europe for over a year. DeSantis has shown interest in the financial consequences of this war, and is personally hoping for a settlement. That isn’t his only interest in Eurasia, he also wants to form trade alliances with the UK, South Korea, Japan and Israel. DeSantis hopes that these trade alliances will create a stronger economy for the US.

Former Governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, is also a member of the Republican Party and is a former United Nations Ambassador. During her time as governor, she signed a 20-week abortion ban, but claims that she would have signed a six-week ban. Haley intends to restart the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” act, which denies refugee protection to people fleeing persecution and torture. She also wants to enact an “E-Verify” system to prevent businesses from hiring illegal immigrants and outlawing sanctuary cities, while increasing funding for border patrol and ICE agents. Haley has publicly opposed efforts to expand medicare. She intends to reduce the nation’s debt by lowering spending instead of increasing taxes. Haley brings a unique issue to the table; she aims to ban anonymous social media posting, claiming this can help reduce misinformation while protecting first amendment rights.

While Vivek Ramaswamy may not have a political background like many other candidates, he does have a history of entrepreneurship and finance, which may be a plus for the Republican Party. Ramaswamy founded Roivant Sciences, a pharmaceutical company, in 2014. Ramaswamy intends to pass an act that will lower prescription drug prices by making prescription drugs manufactured in the US and not shipped in from overseas. He also wants to repeal any and all acts that mandate reporting use of fossil fuels. Ramaswamy has revealed all his tax returns from the last 20 years to show his transparency with voters. Listed on his campaign website is also a list of “10 Truths” he believes in, which include statements such as “God is real”, “There are two genders” and “Human flourishing requires fossil fuels” among many more. Ramaswamy wants to enact a nationwide ban to prevent gender-affirming care for transgender minors, and also plans to pardon Trump and all who were imprisoned during the January sixth riots. Ramaswamy believes there is corruption within the Department of Education, FBI and IRS; He intends to shut down these departments and rebuild them from scratch to eradicate abuses of power. Ramaswamy also wants to raise the voting age to 25, unless a citizen can pass a civics test.

Chris Christie is an untraditional candidate for the Republican Party, and he has stated that his only reason for running is to ensure that Trump doesn’t. He doesn’t agree with many of the traditional far-right beliefs. Christie plans to put an income cap on social security and raise the retirement age. He credits the ongoing mental health crisis with the ongoing epidemic of gun violence. Christie wants to close the southern border, not to prevent immigration, but to slow the opioid epidemic. In order to prevent drug abuse, he also plans to increase substance abuse treatment and send the National Guard to assist in customs and border patrol. Christie is also the only republican candidate who opposes a ban on gender-affirming care for minors. This is because he believes that this is something that should be decided by the parents and not the government. He is also pro-choice, but intends to leave abortion rights up to the states. He does have one issue that may make him undesirable to younger voters—due to the risk of the Chinese government getting access to user information, Christie intends to ban the popular social media platform TikTok.

Asa Hutchinson is another Republican candidate who has differing views from others in his party. Although Hutchinson signed a bill preventing trans women from participating in women’s sports while he was governor of Arizona, he says that a government ban on gender-affirming care would be a vast overreach. Hutchinson also wants to leave the right to an abortion at the state level following the repeal of Roe V. Wade. He does not plan to touch social security or the retirement age, and has publicly criticized illegal immigration. Hutchingson plans to prevent gun violence by raising the age to own an assault rifle style weapon to 21.

Many criticize our current president for his old age and physical illnesses, but he is still running for office for re-election. Joe Biden is running under the slogan of “Let’s finish the job, and before his time is up, he hopes to make child and elder care more affordable and accessible for people. Biden also wants to reduce the nation’s debt by enacting a minimum tax for billionaires to ensure all are taxed fairly. He also wants to undo the damage done by the repeal of Roe V. Wade, by codifying the right to an abortion nationwide. Biden also wants to reduce gun violence by banning assault rifles. He also says that attacks against transgender individuals are “sinful”, although he hasn’t done anything during his time as president to reduce these attacks.

Marianne Williamson is a candidate for the Democratic Party, and advocates for better health for our country as a whole. Williamson has proposed programs to create universal health care including dental, vision and hearing as insurance packages, and lowering the cost of prescription drugs. Williamson is also pro-choice, and seeks to codify the right to one. She also intends to create programs that would include universal childcare, substance abuse treatment for families in need and mental health counseling for children including full wrap-around anti-trauma care for at-risk kids. Williamson also wishes to lower the voting age in order to raise voter participation. In order to strengthen the economy, Williamson suggests increasing minimum wage to $15 per hour, including a paid family leave. She also intends to put a universal savings program in place to save money for children starting when they are born. Williamson is also in favor of free tuition to public colleges and universities, and forgiving student debt. She also sees that wage gaps are large in today’s world, and aims to end wage gaps for women and disabled employees.

Dean Phillips, Representative from Minnesota’s third District, is considered the long shot candidate for the Democratic Party. Phillips aims for universal healthcare as well as codifying the right to an abortion. He also intends to protect access to clean, unpolluted water and protect the environment against climate change. Phillips also plans to enhance border security, though he has left his plans as to how very vague. He also suggests that the US adopt an isolationist policy to reduce overseas spending. Phillips is also intending to increase the federal funding for the police In order to prove that Phillips’ opinions are his own, he has refused all funding from federal lobbyists.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is running for the Independent Party. Kennedy aims to unify the US by bringing troops home and making the government more transparent in the day to day. He also wants to tighten border security and make passports for US citizens more accessible. Kennedy has an anti-vax history, but it is unknown how that will affect his presidency. He intends to transform the police and ensure civil liberties. To address the oncoming climate crisis, he wants America to transition to zero-waste cycles. Kennedy also intends to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour.

Independent Party Cornel West has many plans for the future of this country. West plans to enact a federal minimum wage of $27 per hour, along with a minimum yearly salary for educators of $80,000. He also wants to bridge the gap between high and low quality public schools, provide free preschool to all children, and have free tuition for all state and community colleges. West also supports a mandatory minimum six month paid parental leave. He is also hoping to ban all ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bills, as well as any bans on gender affirming healthcare for transgender youth. He also intends to make major law enforcement reforms, including shutting down Cop City, ending mass incarceration, abolishing solitary confinement and ICE, as well as demilitarizing the southern border. West also wants to establish a Health Bill of Rights for disabled people to address and eradicate specific healthcare challenges they face.

Dr. Jill Stein is an internal medicine doctor determined to make some change in the US government. She is running for the Green Party, and aims to reform Obamacare into a Medicare for all program. Stein is also planning to defund the military and raise taxes. She also supports mandatory minimum sentencing for nonviolent drug offenders, capital punishment for certain crimes, and alternative sentencing for non-violence crimes. Stein generally supports gun control measures, though she has not elaborated on her ideas. Stein also aims to end mass deportations and create a clearer path to citizenship.

Vermin Supreme, the satirical politician who has run for office since 1987, is making a presidential run this year for the Independent Party. Supreme promises every American a free pony if he wins. Supreme also intends to make a law mandating people to brush their teeth. He also suggests that the US use zombies for renewable energy. Supreme also believes that the US needs zombie apocalypse awareness and funding for time travel research. On a more serious note, Supreme is in favor of the right to an abortion, stabilizing the cost of prescription drugs, and government funding for mental health as well as the right for transgender people to have access to gender affirming care and the ability to play sports for their gender.