Republican Party News:
On Jan. 15, 2024, former president Donald Trump won the Iowa caucus with 51% of the votes, competing against republican candidate Ron DeSantis with 21%, and Nikki Haley at 19%. While primary elections determine who will be the presidential nominee for their political party, Caucasus are social gatherings where registered party members gather to listen to speeches from different candidates and write down the name of the candidate they like best. Caucasus aren’t indicative of the nominee for a political party, but the Iowa caucus, being the first of the election season gives candidates access to media attention and social momentum for the rest of the race.
However, DeSantis dropped out of the race after the Iowa Caucus on Jan. 21 and is now endorsing former president Trump, following the actions of Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy who did the same on Jan. 15.
In the New Hampshire primary which took place on Jan. 23, Trump won 53.4% of votes, with Haley gaining 43.2% of votes.
The other factor challenging Trump’s eligibility to become President is the several court trials scheduled for 2024 after he was indicted for four separate cases. Although Trump claims “presidential immunity” for acts he committed while in office, trials are still being held to determine whether he will face criminal charges for “trying to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia, multiple civil cases seeking to hold him liable for the Jan. 6 riot and a civil defamation case brought against him by writer E. Jean Carroll after he attacked her for accusing him of sexual assault,” Forbes Magazine said.
Haley, who served as a governor of her home state, South Carolina as well as ambassador to the United Nations, and hopes to appeal to America with expertise in foreign affairs, and advocacy for human rights and ethics.
Overall, despite conflict regarding Trump’s court cases, Trump and Haley both remain strong competitors in the race to be the Republican candidate for the Nov. 2024 presidential election.
Democratic Party News:
News regarding the Democratic party in the 2024 election has been quiet in light of the events surrounding the Republican party.
A main concern with Joe Biden’s candidacy amongst voters has been his age and cognitive ability. Despite his age, the Biden-Harris administration has accomplished a lot including managing the chaos left behind by the pandemic, signing legislation to develop clean energy, as well as legislation for stricter gun laws. In the recent democratic primary in New Hampshire, Biden won as a write-in candidate with the majority of the votes.
Other Democratic candidates are Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson. In the recent New Hampshire primary, Phillips gained 21% of votes, and Williamson gained 5%.
Phillips was recently endorsed by 2020 candidate Andrew Yang, with his goals for America including relieving economic hardship felt by working-class families and decreasing political polarization by working cohesively with republican colleagues.
Williamson, a spiritual author and speaker hopes to calm America’s economic unrest. On her website, Williamson states her intention to “provide a massive infusion of economic hope and opportunity to the over 70%of Americans who say they feel no economic hope, who simply do what they can to survive what they know is an inherently unjust economic system,” and destroy America’s “corporate aristocracy”.
While Phillips and Williamson remain on the ballot, Biden is still on top with Democratic voters.
How to vote in California’s Presidential Primary Election per party:
California currently has a “modified closed primary system,” meaning voters vote for their top two candidates in Primary Elections, and the two candidates with the highest number of votes within a political party are elected to represent their party in the presidential election.
For presidential primaries, voters who wish to vote for Republican, Green, or Peace and Freedom parties must be registered with that party.
Voters who answered “no” when asked for their party preference must request a ballot with an American Independent, Democratic, or Libertarian candidate.
The last day to register to vote for the Presidential Primary is Feb. 20, and all registered voters will receive a mailed ballot before the March 5 election, ballots will begin to be mailed to voters on Feb. 5, and ballots may be mailed back up till March 5.
Early in-person voting will begin Feb. 24 and will end March 5.
Register to vote here: https://covr.sos.ca.gov/
For a physical, paper version of the voter registration form, visit Mr. Stoddard in room 509.
