As the country nears election season, the United States’ presidential primaries are officially underway, with New York’s Democratic and Republican voting period having happened Tuesday, April 2 in SUB 62/63. Students registered with a political party had the ability to pick their presidential candidate while also voting for delegates in the Democratic National Convention (DNC) within New York’s 18th Congressional District.
On the Democratic ballot, three candidates were listed: incumbent President Joe Biden, Marianne Williamson and Dean Phillips, with Phillips dropping out on March 6. On April 3, Biden officially won the primary election with 92% of the votes.
Biden, who served this past term after defeating former president Donald Trump, has campaigned his administration’s achievements, pledging to continue to fight for the American people and criticizing the Republican party. This election season, however, Biden has gained controversy for his support for Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, giving rise to a campaign called, “Leave It Blank,” which urges voters to submit blank ballots to demonstrate voter disapproval of the current president. The number of blank ballots received for New York State will be released to the public within two weeks.
On the Republican ballot, four candidates were listed: Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, Chris Christie and Vivek Ramaswamy. Only Trump remains in the race, as the other three candidates dropped out earlier this year. At the time of publication, Trump won 82% of Republican votes and won 91 delegates.
Trump, who has been facing ongoing legal battles such as falsifying business records, a civil fraud lawsuit and various criminal charges in relation to his attempt to overturn the 2020 election, has cited reversing America’s decline as the reason he is running for president once more. 14 Republican candidates have dropped out of the race, and while some endorsed Trump, others remain outspoken critics of his campaign, according to Ballotpedia.
Both Trump and Biden have exceeded their respective party delegate requirements to win party nominations, but the prospects of a rematch has not left a majority of Americans excited. An AP-NORC poll from December found that “most U.S. adults overall (56%) would be ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ dissatisfied with Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee in 2024, and a similar majority (58%) would be very or somewhat dissatisfied with Trump as the GOP’s pick.”
For the independents of the nation, Robert F. Kennedy, an environmental lawyer and member of the Kennedy family, has been a major player, framing himself as a champion of the middle class and critical of government institutions. He too has his share of controversies, primarily involving his stances against vaccines and public healthcare. Being a third-party candidate, he did not appear in the primaries, Kennedy will need 45,000 signatures to be placed on the official election ballot in New York State.
Primary elections will conclude on June 8, as U.S. territories Guam and the Virgin Islands cast their ballots. The Republican National Convention (RNC) will take place from July 15-18 and the DNC will take place Aug. 19-22, where both parties will officially nominate their preferred candidates to go head-to-head in the 2024 presidential election on Nov. 5.
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