Meet the 2024 presidential candidates
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Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, former President Trump's lone remaining challenger in the GOP primary, has suspended her presidential campaign after a disappointing showing on Super Tuesday.
Why it matters: The GOP primary is effectively over, with Trump and President Biden headed for a likely rematch in November.
- Haley's decision came after Trump dominated Super Tuesday, winning 14 out of 15 contests.
- Biden's most high-profile challenger, Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips, also suspended his long-shot campaign the day after Super Tuesday.
Zoom in: DeSantis, Trump's other biggest GOP challenger, suspended his campaign two days before the New Hampshire primary and after he finished second at the Iowa caucuses.
- Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and venture capitalist Vivek Ramaswamy also suspended their campaigns after Trump easily swept the Iowa caucuses in a historic win.
President Joe Biden
His campaign pitch: Biden, 81, vows to protect abortion, voting rights and Social Security. He presents Trump as a threat to America — and says that he is equipped to take him on. Biden's touted legislative wins on infrastructure, the environment and semiconductors.
- He has zoomed in on the Jan. 6 insurrection and again centered protecting democracy as part of his re-election pitch.
Former President Donald Trump
Trump, 77, has affirmed his grip on the GOP. He faces 91 charges in four criminal cases across four jurisdictions, and is expected to have a crowded courtroom calendar.
His campaign pitch: The former president has repeated false statements that the 2020 election was stolen and casts himself as the victim of overzealous, politically motivated prosecutors. His campaign emphasizes border security, the economy and crime.
Activist and lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and an outspoken critic of vaccines, Kennedy, 69, launched his bid for the Democratic nominee in April.
- In October, he announced he was ditching the Democratic label and running as an independent.
His campaign pitch: Kennedy, an environmental lawyer, has criticized the pharmaceutical industry and slammed the school and business closures during the pandemic, asserting that the government and media "lie to us."
Author Marianne Williamson
Williamson, 71, is a self-help author who mounted an unsuccessful presidential bid in 2020. She announced on Feb. 7 that she was suspending her most recent presidential campaign, but re-entered the race weeks later.
Her campaign pitch: Williamson supports universal health care and tuition-free state colleges and universities, and seeks to take on corporate power and tackle economic inequality.
The candidates who have dropped out
- Haley won two GOP primary contests — Vermont and Washington, D.C. — making her the first woman to win a GOP presidential primary. She did not endorse Trump when she bowed out of the race, and instead said that he must "earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him."
- DeSantis suspended his campaign less than a week after the Iowa caucuses, where he finished second behind Trump. He endorsed Trump when he suspended his campaign and said "it is clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance."
- Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson suspended his campaign on Jan. 16, the morning after finishing sixth in the Iowa caucuses. He has been a vocal critic of former President Trump, and has previously said the frontrunner should drop his campaign.
- Vivek Ramaswamy ended his campaign just after Trump was declared the winner of the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 15 and endorsed the former president. (He finished fourth.) The venture capitalist had never held elected office and said his mission was to restore America's "national identity" with a far-right vision.
- Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie dropped out of the race on Jan. 10, just days before the Iowa caucuses. Christie's campaign often pitted him against former President Trump, and the ex-governor as the candidate with the "guts" and fearlessness to engage with Trump.
- North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum: He did not qualify for the third GOP debate, and criticized the Republican National Committee's qualification requirements in his exit statement. He dropped out Dec. 4.
- Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.): One of the most prominent Black Republicans in the U.S., Scott spent aggressively during his campaign but struggled to rise in the polls. He dropped out Nov. 12.
- Former Vice President Mike Pence: In October, he became the first major GOP candidate to drop out of the Republican primary.
- Also ex-candidates: Republican businessman Ryan Binkley, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, former Rep. Will Hurd, conservative radio host Larry Elder and businessman Perry Johnson. Hurd, an outspoken Trump critic, endorsed Haley when he dropped out and Elder backed Trump.
Others in 2024 presidential fray
Cornel West, a prominent progressive activist and scholar, is running as an independent candidate.
Cenk Uygur, founder of the liberal progressive news outlet The Young Turks, said in October he was challenging Biden for the Democratic nomination.
Jill Stein announced her presidential campaign in November as a Green Party candidate. She ran unsuccessfully as the Green Party nominee in 2012 and 2016.
Go deeper
Editor's note: This story has been updated with new developments.
