The 2024 Election Cycle Approaches Full Swing
The 2024 election cycle in the US is shaping up to be one of the most consequential in the nation’s history. It also promises to be one of the most bizarre. All eyes are focused at the top of the ticket’s presidential race, which of course is not unusual at all. But the presidential contest itself is certainly not your normal battle for the White House, if there even is such a thing.
On the Democratic side we have incumbent president Joe Biden, already the oldest person to serve as President of the United States, seeking a second term that would see him take the oath of office at 82 years of age if he is successful.
For the Republicans we have former president Donald J. Trump, seeking to become only the second person to serve two non-consecutive terms as president (following the path of Grover Cleveland) and running for his old office while he is facing 88 charges of criminal behavior (down from 91) under 4 separate criminal indictments (2 federal and 2 state).
Moreover, both candidates are deeply unpopular; according to ABC’s News’s 538, Trump had a net favorable/unfavorable rating of -10 while Biden’s was -12 in an average of major polls conducted on April 1, 2024.
A majority of Americans desperately want different choices for president this November, but it is highly unlikely this will happen. Polling consistently shows a very tight race, with voters indicating that inflation specifically, jobs and the economy more broadly, immigration, and abortion are the most important issues as they consider their presidential vote choice.
But the presidential contest is not the only game in town. Both chambers of Congress are currently controlled by very slim margins—the Democrats control the Senate by 2 seats and the Republicans control the House by 4 seats—and both chambers could be controlled by either party when the dust settles after November 5, and this settling will take days if not months. Beyond the federal level, control over many governorships and state legislatures is at stake this November, along with high profile ballot measures in a number of states.
There is indeed a great deal at stake in the 2024 election cycle. For good or for ill, this will not be a dull campaign season.
-Professor & Department Chair Mark Brewer