Photo retrieved from ABC News.

The upcoming 2024 presidential election has left voters wondering if it really is going to come down to former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden again on the ballot. With many voters concerned about Biden’s age and the 91 criminal charges that Trump is currently facing, many are concerned that they may be the only options when the November election comes around. 

A concern that many voters have about voting for current President Joe Biden is his age. NBC News published a poll showing that 76% of voters are concerned that his age is a hindrance to his ability to be a good president and effectively fulfill his duties. This was contrasted to the 48% of voters who said that they had concerns about former President Donald Trump’s age and its impact on his ability to perform duties as the president of the United States of America. 

While some voters are concerned about Biden’s age, others see Trump’s criminal charges as a major roadblock in his path to re-election. A poll from NBC News shows that only 48% of voters are concerned about the criminal charges facing Trump at the moment. 

The Racquet Press sat down with Political Science Professor Anthony Chergowsky, who was able to offer some insight on the upcoming election. He said, “One of the wild cards, is the outcome of Trump’s legal cases. I can make some educated guesses as to how voters might respond, but we have also never been in this situation before.” 

Chergowsky continued, “Another wild card would be the condition of the economy. Inflation and age have been the two key issues in this campaign, and neither of those have been particularly helpful for Joe Biden.” With both major candidates facing issues of their own, a lesser-known candidate may be able to succeed in the presidential race. 

One potential alternative to Donald Trump for the Republican Party is Nikki Haley, a former United States ambassador to the United Nations and former governor of South Carolina. Haley remains in the running despite being significantly behind Trump in both popularity and delegates.

To win the official nomination for the Republican party, a candidate must have a total of 1,215 delegates. Haley, at the time of this writing, has 17 delegates while Trump possesses a total of 63. 

On Haley’s campaign, Professor Chergowsky said, “It’s a last-ditch effort to try to stop Trump.” He continued, “A lot of Trump’s competitors have been hesitant to go after him in a significant and focused way, and at this point, Nikki Haley is making strong criticisms of Donald Trump, but earlier in the campaign, she seemed reluctant to do that.” 

Some of the other candidates who sought the Republican nomination were Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, Asa Hutcherson and Chris Christie. However, all of these candidates have since dropped out of the race due to a lack of success on the campaign trail. 

On the Democratic side, two candidates stepped forward to challenge Joe Biden. Dean Philips, a Congressman from Minnesota,  and Marianne Williamson, an author and spiritual leader from Texas, entered the race in October of 2023. As the race went on, however, Marianne Williamson announced that she was dropping out of the race. 

Dean Phillips, who currently holds zero of the 1,968 delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination, is behind Biden who has 91 delegates. Philips has announced that he will not be dropping out of the race anytime soon. 

Professor Chergowsky said on the Democratic Party, “There has not been a serious effort to unseat Joe Biden, and that is because it is very daunting for anyone to challenge a sitting president, to try and prevent the sitting president from becoming the party nominee.” 

“Many Democrats are concerned about his age, but in order to unseat Biden as the nominee, there has to be a clear alternative,” said Chergowsky on Democrats running for presidential election. “Understandably, many key figures in the Democratic party are reluctant to go up against an incumbent president out of fear that if they go up against Biden, they might lose, while also weakening Biden’s political position.” 

As the two Democratic candidates and two Republican candidates remain in the running, each will continue to campaign and garner support for their respective campaigns. More information on the presidential elections will be published as the campaign progresses.