How 2024 Will Showcase the Worst of Both Sides

By KEEGAN A. GODWIN

The 2024 presidential election will be one of the most divisive and destructive elections in American history. It is unclear who will be at the forefront of the Republican nomination. Mr. Donald Trump has already announced his candidacy for the presidency. Republicans like Mr. Ron DeSantis and Ms. Nikki Haley are increasingly looking like they will announce their intent to run. Dozens of candidates will come forward, but only a few will put up an actual fight. Trump has already begun criticizing his potential opponents such as Haley and DeSantis to weaken their standings among his supporters.

With Trump’s announcement of his intention to run for office again, the Republican party is put in an uncomfortable position for the party’s immediate future. According to FiveThirtyEight Polls, over 55% of Americans look at Trump unfavorably. Despite these numbers, the polls do not mean anything to the Trump Campaign. Trump is a former president. He is a household name. His financial backing is solid. His followers are willing to do whatever is necessary to get him back into the White House, as seen on January 6th, 2021. Even if the Republican Party does not nominate Trump for the 2024 candidacy, he is still going to put up one of the best fights that a third-party candidate has ever done.

The Republican Party is going through an identity crisis. Kevin McCarthy needed fifteen rounds of voting before he became the Speaker of the House. A faction within the party held the position hostage until Mr. McCarthy gave in to their demands. While Mr. McCarthy did obtain the Speaker position, it sent a message of disunity within the Republican Party. The 2022 Midterms broadcasted this disunity at an extreme level. Republicans were challenging other Republicans under unique circumstances – candidates backed by Mr. Trump versus candidates backed by the Republican Party. The division within the party was put on full display for the entire nation to watch. The Democratic Party had the easiest path to sweeping the Midterms: until their problems were also put on national display.

The Democratics are currently struggling with its own identity crisis. President Joe Biden is suffering in the polls. He is currently sitting at a 40% approval rate, according to Reuters. While the polls most likely will not be an issue for Trump, Biden does not have the luxury that Trump has. Biden does not have a strong following as the former president does. In fact, Biden does not even have the support of his own party, despite being the President of the United States. According to Forbes, only 37% of Democrats want Biden to run for re-election. With his team avoiding questions about re-election, it is difficult for the Democratic Party to focus on the future. The future of the party is in the hands of Biden, who seems to be losing the support of his own allies. As Biden would be 86 years old at the end of a potential second term, the question of his age and mental capabilities are at the forefront of everyone’s mind. The UK Independent found that only 40% of Americans believe Biden has the “mental sharpness it takes to serve effectively as president.”

Unfortunately for the Democrats, Biden’s next-in-line, Vice President Kamala Harris, isn’t a family favorite either. Ms. Harris is the first woman, first African American, and first Asian American to serve as the Vice President of the United States. However, she has done little to establish herself as a potential suitor for the face of the party.

According to the New York Times, many Democrats believe they have lost hope for Harris’s future in Washington D.C.

In the 2022 Midterms, the Democrats had the Republican Party on the ropes – Republicans were divided and faced a crisis between Trump and the party. Despite this path to an easy victory, the Democratic Party failed to unify its own party and sweep the results. The Democrats lack a strong leader who can unify and inspire voters to put themselves as the leading party in the United States. And, to the Democrats’ despair, it does not look like a leader will emerge before 2024.

The 2024 presidential race will feature a divided Republican Party versus a battered Democratic Party. This upcoming race should be an easy victory for the Democrats. But, the midterms were supposed to be an easy victory, as well. Assuming the Democrats continue the path they are on, they will fail to produce an actual leader for their battle against the Republicans. All while Democrats struggle for a leader, the Republican Party will be fighting a war on two fronts. Assuming Trump does not gain the Republican nomination, they will be facing the supporters of Trump and the Democrats. 2024 is destined to be a fight between two parties who have failed to establish their own identities since the 2020 Election.