Simone Lawson
With elections, it is important to understand what each candidate stands for to make an informed decision. In the United States, elections occur in two phases: primary and general. During the primary elections, voters choose which candidates will represent each political party, and in the general election, the chosen candidates go head-to-head. To understand what each candidate stands for, one can refer to their speeches, advertisements, and other venues where they present their ideas. Additionally, it is essential to consider the candidates' political parties, as this can provide insight into their general ideologies. Local news, interviews, social media presence, and public debates can also offer valuable insights into the candidates' positions on various issues.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Abortion access | Harris: Yes; Trump: No |
| Tax cuts | Harris: Middle-class; Trump: Extend 2017 tax cuts |
| Tax increases | Harris: On the wealthy and corporations |
| Education | Harris: Bipartisan Senate compromise; Trump: Terminate the Education Department |
| Climate change | Harris: Address aggressively; Trump: More support for fossil fuels |
| Gun violence | Both candidates agree it's a problem |
| Immigration | Harris: More border agents, immigration judges, and asylum officers; Trump: Mass deportation of migrants living in the US illegally |
| LGBTQ+ rights | Harris: No information found; Trump: Attacked transgender rights |
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What You'll Learn
Abortion rights
Among the Republican candidates, there is a range of views on abortion rights. Former President Donald Trump has taken credit for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, calling it a "win" due to his nomination of three conservative justices to the Supreme Court. However, he has also criticized six-week abortion bans, warning that supporting such a ban could hurt the Republican Party in the general election. Trump has expressed his belief that abortion laws should be determined by individual states, allowing for variation among them.
Another prominent Republican candidate, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, identifies as "unapologetically pro-life." Haley's personal struggles with fertility and adoption influence her stance. She emphasizes that abortion is a deeply personal issue and advocates for finding consensus, such as banning late-term abortions.
Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur-turned-politician, identifies as "personally pro-life" but does not support a federal abortion ban. He considers abortion a state issue and focuses on implementing policies that support contraceptives, adoption, childcare, and sexual responsibility for men.
On the other hand, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott has long been a vocal opponent of abortion. He has pledged to sign conservative pro-life legislation into law if elected president. Scott has supported a federal ban on abortion as early as 12 weeks and co-sponsored legislation to establish a constitutional right to life from fertilization.
Among the Democratic candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris has been a strong advocate for abortion rights. She has shared stories of women affected by the Trump administration's abortion bans and has vowed to prevent a national abortion ban from becoming law. Harris supports restoring reproductive freedom nationwide and will sign a bill to that effect if passed by Congress.
Additionally, Tim Walz, the Governor of Minnesota, has also demonstrated his support for abortion rights. Under his leadership, Minnesota became the first state to pass a law protecting a woman's right to choose after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
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Education
Joe Biden
Joe Biden's education plan focuses on investing in schools to eliminate the funding gap between rich and poor districts, as well as between white and non-white districts. He also wants to improve teacher diversity and ensure that children with disabilities have the support they need to succeed. Biden's plan includes creating more opportunities for high school students to take practical classes that lead to credentials. He also advocates for free community college and plans to hike teacher pay in low-income schools.
Donald Trump
Trump's education plan includes the successful implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to empower states with the flexibility they need to educate their students. He also implemented the year-round distribution of Pell grants. Trump has vowed to terminate Common Core and leave education standards to the state and local level. He also proposed a plan to give a $12,000 voucher to every child living in poverty, allowing parents to send their children to the school of their choice.
Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders has made the high cost of higher education a key component of his education platform. He wants to make in-state tuition free for low-income families and offer debt relief to those with student loans. Sanders also wants to cancel all student loan debt, even for the wealthy.
Andrew Yang
Yang's education proposals include promoting leaders in the Department of Education who value life-skills education and trade skills as an educational path in secondary school. He also wants to increase funding to vocational programs within public schools and provide materials to all public schools about career paths that don't require a college degree. Yang plans to work with states to fund their educational systems to improve teacher salaries and reduce layers of administration.
Cory Booker
Cory Booker's campaign focuses on paying teachers more and stopping Republican attacks on public education. He wants to massively expand support for public schools and teachers, and fight for every young person's right to pursue their dreams, whether that be through higher education without crushing student loan debt, starting a small business, or getting on-the-job skills training through apprenticeship or vocational training schools.
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Climate change
President Donald Trump's position on climate change was largely characterized by denial and inaction. He doubted the science behind climate change and rejected the findings of the National Climate Agreement. During his term, he rolled back and reversed many of the regulations put in place by former President Barack Obama, such as withdrawing from the 2015 Clean Power Plan and cutting funding for the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. He also ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to stop collecting data from oil and gas companies, hindering efforts to understand and address pollution. Trump's campaign website defended these actions, claiming that the Affordable Clean Energy Rule would reduce greenhouse gases and promote energy independence.
In contrast, Joe Biden, the former Vice President and Democratic candidate, recognized the urgency of addressing climate change. Biden's $5 trillion climate plan aimed for 100% net-zero emissions by 2050. He also proposed altering local regulations to allow for denser housing near public transit, reducing commute times and the carbon footprint of sprawling areas. Additionally, Biden wanted the insurance industry to collaborate on lowering premiums for homeowners in high-risk areas, such as those vulnerable to wildfires.
Other Democratic candidates also presented ambitious climate plans. Elizabeth Warren's approach focused on addressing the causes of climate change, particularly transitioning industries. Beto O'Rourke's plan included the world's largest-ever climate change investment in infrastructure and innovation, aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050. Pete Buttigieg's $2 trillion climate plan targeted net-zero electricity by 2035 and net-zero emissions from industry by 2050, with investments in clean technology. Bernie Sanders' plan, priced at $16 trillion, called for 100% renewable energy by 2030 and complete decarbonization of the economy by 2050, creating 20 million green jobs.
While the Democratic candidates differed in their approaches, they all seemed committed to a carbon-neutral United States by 2050. This commitment reflected the growing importance of climate change as a political issue, especially among liberal and moderate Democrats.
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Gun violence
Former President Donald Trump, running again in 2024, has positioned himself as the "most pro-gun, pro-Second Amendment president." He argues that gun violence is not a gun problem but a mental health, social, cultural, and spiritual issue. Trump has pledged to reverse all gun control measures passed by the Biden administration and has expressed opposition to enacting new gun restrictions. He has also promised to get rid of gun-free zones in schools and protect Americans' right to keep and bear arms.
On the other hand, President Joe Biden has taken executive action to reduce gun violence, including forming the Office of Gun Violence Prevention in September 2023. He has called for banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, requiring universal background checks, and repealing gun manufacturers' immunity from liability. Biden's supporters prioritize gun control and view the increase in guns as detrimental to society.
Vice President Kamala Harris has highlighted the enactment of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which includes enhanced background checks for buyers under 21 and supports state "red flag" laws. Harris has also announced the National Extreme Risk Protection Order Resource Center to further implement these laws.
Other candidates, such as Nikki Haley, have emphasized their support for the Second Amendment and their records of protecting gun owners' rights. Some candidates, like Kennedy, have expressed belief in gun control while arguing for more research on the correlation between gun violence and psychiatric drugs.
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Immigration
Donald Trump
Donald Trump's administration aimed to decrease both legal and illegal immigration, introducing measures such as a travel ban on various Muslim-majority countries and significantly reducing the number of refugees admitted to the US. Trump has vowed to continue rolling out more of these policies in a second term. During his 2020 campaign, he emphasized US border security and the risks he believed were associated with illegal immigration from Mexico, advocating for tough measures. He promised to build a wall along the US-Mexico border and claimed that Mexico would pay for it using increased fees from border crossings and tariffs related to NAFTA. Trump's idea for the wall varied in scope but aimed to be stronger than the current fences under the Secure Fence Act of 2006. He also planned to reinstate policies from his previous term, such as his "Remain in Mexico" policy, which would force migrants seeking asylum to remain in Mexico until their court date with a US immigration judge. Trump's campaign website states that he has "enforced immigration laws to protect American communities and American jobs" and that he called on Congress to "fully fund a wall along the Southern border, to close legal loopholes that enable illegal immigration, to end chain migration, and to eliminate the visa lottery program."
Joe Biden
Joe Biden has vowed to protect the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and review Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programs. Biden's platform states that TPS holders "who have been in the country for an extended period of time and built lives" in the United States will be offered a path to citizenship. Biden supports passing legislation to create a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who register with authorities, are up-to-date on their taxes, and pass background checks. He has also pledged to end the Trump administration's Migration Protection Protocols policy, otherwise known as the "Remain in Mexico" program, which requires asylum seekers to wait out their court dates on Mexican soil.
Kamala Harris
Kamala Harris has promised to secure the Southern border and to "reform our broken immigration system." During her time as Vice President, she supported a bipartisan border security bill that would have imposed limits on asylum eligibility, added over 1,500 new Customs and Border Protection personnel, and increased funding for cities and states to provide support for immigrants. She has promised to reintroduce that bill and sign it into law if elected President. Harris has also stated that she wants to create an "earned pathway to citizenship and secure our border." She believes that America should be a place that welcomes immigrants searching for a better life and that she will "reverse President Trump's Muslim Ban on Day One and fix the family visa backlog."
Cory Booker
Cory Booker's campaign website states that "Our immigration system is broken, and the Trump Administration's inhumane policies stand in stark contrast to everything we say we stand for as a country." Booker lists four immigration-related priorities: "End family separation and ensure that our immigration system is humane, fair, and respects immigrants' rights by ending private detention facilities and not treating immigrants who cross our border seeking safety as criminals. Create an asylum process that recognizes the dignity of those who have taken extraordinary risks to seek safe haven in our country. Expand protections for DREAMers and people with Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure." In Cory's administration, he will direct DHS to end immigration raids on "sensitive locations," such as schools, medical facilities, and places of worship, and expand the list of sensitive locations to include courthouses.
Other Candidates
Other candidates in the 2020 election with notable immigration policies include Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren, Mark Sanford, and Pete Buttigieg. Tom Steyer has tweeted about the need for comprehensive immigration reform, stating that "the first step is examining the factors that cause mass migration in the first place." Elizabeth Warren has called for addressing the "humanitarian mess at the border" and reversing the president's discriminatory policies. Mark Sanford's campaign website emphasizes the principle of fairness and the rule of law in immigration policy, stating that "to have a thousand people a day illegally crossing our border, or for that matter, overstaying their visa, is to make a mockery of the rule of law." Pete Buttigieg has pledged to "end the family separation crisis and evaluate ICE and CBP practices to ensure similar humanitarian crises never happen again."
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Frequently asked questions
Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party candidate, stands for middle-class tax cuts, tax increases on the wealthy and corporations, a restoration of abortion rights, and a government that aggressively addresses climate change. She has also called on Congress to pass legislation guaranteeing abortion access.
Donald Trump, the Republican Party candidate, stands for terminating the Education Department and curtailing the independence of regulatory agencies. He has pledged to cut government waste and red tape by eliminating at least 10 federal regulations for every new one imposed. Trump wants to extend and expand his 2017 tax cuts, greatly increase tariffs, and offer more support for fossil fuels. He has also attacked transgender rights.
The candidates have very different visions for the United States, with Harris representing a more progressive and inclusive platform, and Trump advocating for more conservative and nationalist policies. Harris wants to address climate change, while Trump does not seem to prioritise this issue. Additionally, Harris supports abortion rights, while Trump does not.
You can look up the candidates in the local news to see if there are any noteworthy stories or interviews. Check their social media presence to understand what they post about and which issues they are most invested in. Try to attend local events where the candidates are present to get to know them and their policies better.
