With President Joe Biden’s exit from the 2024 Presidential election just two months ago, a new Democratic nominee was thrown on the stage: Kamala Harris. Harris, a former prosecutor, served as San Francisco County District Attorney and California Attorney General.
As District Attorney, Harris often pursued minimum punishments, and tried to avoid the death penalty for criminals convicted of murder.
As California Attorney General, Harris implemented a mandatory body camera initiative for all police units in the state; a move to try to curb police violence. Elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016, Harris served for three years before she was tapped as the Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee in 2020. Harris got early name recognition for her interrogations of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in Senate Judiciary Committees, as well as a failed bid for President in 2020 before dropping out and joining the Biden team.
A name unknown to few, Donald Trump has been in the public spotlight for forty years. As a real estate developer in New England, Trump engineered the building of businesses and casinos that naturally attracted the public eye. Not only a business mogul, Trump has been a household celebrity since the publishing of his book The Art of the Deal in 1987.
Starting in 2004, Trump’s own reality tv show, “The Apprentice”, aired. 
Through this, Trump launched his starpower to political victory. As a candidate in 2016, Trump would often compare himself to other candidates by citing his business experience. As it seemed, this resonated with many and he was elected the Republican nominee.
In what is known as one of the biggest political upsets to this day, Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, former First Lady, U.S. Senator, and Secretary of State, in the 2016 general election.
Through a tumultuous first term, Trump was praised by his allies, and condemned by his adversaries. Trump was defeated for re-election by Joe Biden on November 3, 2020, in a thin margin in the electoral college.
Once both candidates sealed their party nomination for 2024, the Presidential Debate was agreed to by both campaigns to take place on Tuesday, September 10, moderated by ABC’s David Muir and Lindsey Davis.
As the debate went on, Former President Trump seemed defensive and lost when talking about policy, even once bringing up a debunked claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio are eating people’s pets. Harris seemed calm and collected, and repudiated Trump’s claims while making points for herself, although vague at times.
After the debate, the majority of focus groups declared Vice President Harris the winner. However, unclear at this time, recent Presidential debates have not mattered in determining the outcome of the election.
As the campaigns are on the last lap, they both have increasingly made their way to being “big tent” campaigns.
Vice President Harris seeks to achieve the votes of conservative Democrats, moderate Republicans, and Independents by showing Trump’s behavior and policy as erratic and dangerous to the country.
Harris has even scored the endorsement of two hundred plus Bush, McCain, and Romney Republican era officials, including most notably: Former Vice President Dick Cheney.
While temperpent is key, Harris is also focused on policy. One of the Harris campaigns most notable attacks for Trump has been on the Ukraine and Russian War.
While Trump has been weary in his support for Ukraine, arguing American dollars should be spent at home, Harris thinks that supporting Ukraine is vital for the sanctity of U.S. foreign policy. The Harris campaign says supporting Ukraine is necessary in order to combat the dictatorial regime of Vladimir Putin. While Putin invades Ukraine at the moment, his biggest challenge is what’s next; what country or region can he take to reorder the previous Soviet Union? The Harris campaign says defending Ukraine shows our allies we stand with them, so in times of hardship, they will stand with us.
As Harris leads in five out of the eight swing state’s polling, her team hopes they can keep the momentum come November.
The Trump path for 2024 looks much different than Republican models of the past. While Republicans for fifty years were in favor of free trade and low tariffs, Trump has seen insurgent support from labor because of his support for high tariffs and protectionism.
Trump’s protectionism – although unlike we’ve often seen – is reminiscent of Ross Perot in the 1990’s. Perot – a billionaire businessman and Presidential candidate – argued that protectionism helped save American jobs at home, and prevented them from being sucked overseas.
Protectionism is a major factor for Trump’s win in 2016, with most states in the midwest having majority union households: households where one or more of the household incomes comes from unionized labor or labor unions.
With this, a recent internal poll by the Teamsters Union – the fourth largest labor union in the country – shows Trump leading among their workers 58% to 34%, with 8% undecided or for third party candidates. As a result, the Teamsters Union – for the first time in over 30 years –has chosen not to endorse a Presidential candidate, backing away from their political norm of endorsing the Democratic nominee. With support from union members in the midwest, and conservatives in the south, Trump must balance his approach in order to win back the presidency.
With both candidates unpopular as ever, and a second presidential debate out of sight, voters are left with themselves on what to decide: a continuation of the Biden administration, or a reboot to the past?
