Who are the presidential candidates in 2024?
From the long-shot bids to the obvious contenders
Election Day 2024 will be here before we know it, and a once-crowded presidential field has now narrowed to its final contestants. Here is a list of candidates on all sides of the aisle, though expect to see more names drop off as the race progresses. Also included are each candidate's odds of winning from the betting site Oddschecker.
Joe Biden (D) — odds of winning: +194
President Joe Biden formally announced his re-election campaign on April 25, 2023, exactly four years to the day after he first declared his candidacy in 2019. "Freedom. Personal freedom is fundamental to who we are as Americans. There's nothing more important. Nothing more sacred," the president said at the start of a three-minute launch video. "Around the country, MAGA extremists are lining up to take down those bedrock freedoms." This is "not a time to be complacent," he continued, "and that's why I'm running for re-election." Should the president succeed in reclaiming the White House, he will be 86 at the end of his second term.
On March 12, 2024, Biden secured enough delegates to clinch the Democratic Party's nomination, setting him up for a rematch with former President Donald Trump.
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Donald Trump (R) — odds of winning: +106
Months before his legal fortunes took a turn for the worse, former President Donald Trump stood before an adoring crowd at his Mar-a-Lago estate and made his third consecutive run for president official. "For millions of Americans, the past two years under Joe Biden have been a time of pain, hardship, anxiety, and despair," he told the room full of Republican aides and heavyweights. "In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States."
On the same day Biden secured enough delegates for the Democratic nomination, the former president also secured the required delegates for the GOP nomination. Trump will carry the banner of the Republican Party into the general election on the back of 88 criminal indictments against him.
Marianne Williamson (D) — odds of winning: not displayed
Call it a comeback (or not), but Marianne Williamson is not giving up the Democratic nomination without a fight. Her unsuccessful 2020 bid saw Williamson drop out of the race almost a full year before election day, and she did the same in 2024 — for a while. Following a third-place finish in the Democratic primary in Michigan, Williamson unsuspended her campaign in a rare reentry into the presidential race. Williamson had dropped out "because I was losing the horse race, but something so much more important than the horse race is at stake here, and we must respond," the candidate said in a video on X. Like most of the remaining candidates beyond Biden and Trump, however, Williamson's chances of winning the White House are believed to be low, and her name is not even listed among the betting candidates on Oddschecker's presidential odds.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (I) — odds of winning: +3,300
An environmental lawyer as well as the son of late U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy — yes, that one — RFK Jr. is perhaps best known for his support of anti-vaccine rhetoric, beliefs that have been vehemently denounced by his own family. After initially launching his White House bid in conjunction with the Democratic Party, Kennedy in October switched to independent, which could complicate things for both Biden and Trump alike.
The aforementioned condemnation by his own family has made him an outlier among the Democratic tentpoles. RFK Jr.'s nephew, Jack Schlossberg, said his uncle was "trading in on Camelot, celebrity conspiracy theories and conflict for personal gain," calling his candidacy "an embarrassment." As the election creeps closer, RFK Jr. is believed to be courting a number of vice presidential candidates, with a Bay Area lawyer and the backer of an RFK Jr. Super Bowl ad, Nicole Shanahan, reportedly at the top of the list.
Cornel West (I) — odds of winning: +99,900
Philosopher, scholar and activist Cornel West raised the perennial debate over third-party spoilers when he announced a run for president alongside the People's Party, then the Green Party, and now as an independent. "People are hungry for change," West wrote on X when announcing his switch to run as an independent. "They want good policies over partisan politics. We need to break the grip of the duopoly and give power to the people."
Like RFK Jr., though, his run as an independent means West is unlikely to travel very far in his presidential aspirations. He has recently been using the events of the Israel-Hamas war as a catalyst to draw in Muslim and Arab American voters, many of whom have become disillusioned with the Biden administration's response to the war.
Chase Oliver (L) — odds of winning: not displayed
Chase Oliver, a libertarian, announced his candidacy in April 2023, per Ballotpedia. Speaking at the Iowa State Fair, the 2022 U.S. Senate candidate out of Georgia described himself as "armed and gay," and urged a "cultural war ceasefire," per the Des Moines Register. "I don't care how you live, who you love, how you worship, how you express yourself, if you do it in peace, that's your business, not the government's," he said. Oliver is also pro-choice, supports the legalization of marijuana, and wants to see an increased focus on combating addiction and drug use in the U.S. Like Williamson, his odds of winning are so low that they are not displayed on Oddschecker.
Dropped out
Will Hurd (R), former congressman from Texas: dropped out of the race in October 2023 and endorsed Nikki Haley.
Francis Suarez (R), mayor of Miami, Florida: dropped out of the race in August 2023 after promising to do so after failing to secure a spot in the first GOP debate.
Larry Elder (R), conservative political commentator and radio host: dropped out of the race in October 2023 and endorsed Donald Trump.
Perry Johnson (R), businessman and former gubernatorial candidate: dropped out of the race in October 2023 and endorsed Donald Trump.
Mike Pence (R), former vice president: dropped out of the race in October 2023, saying it was "not my time."
Tim Scott (R), South Carolina senator: dropped out of the race in November 2023 during a surprise announcement on Fox News.
Corey Stapleton (R), former Montana secretary of state: dropped out of the race in October 2023.
Doug Burgum (R), governor of North Dakota: dropped out of the race in December 2023 and endorsed Donald Trump.
Chris Christie (R), former New Jersey governor: dropped out of the race in January 2024 and said he would not "enable Donald Trump to ever be president of the United States again."
Asa Hutchinson (R), former Arkansas governor: dropped out of the race in January 2024 after getting less than 200 votes in the Iowa caucuses.
Vivek Ramaswamy (R), businessman and entrepreneur: dropped out of the race in January 2024 after a poor performance in the Iowa caucuses and endorsed Donald Trump.
Ron DeSantis (R), governor of Florida: dropped out of the race in January 2024 after a poor performance in the Iowa caucuses and endorsed Donald Trump.
Nikki Haley (R), former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador: dropped out of the race in March 2024 after a resounding defeat to Trump on Super Tuesday.
Ryan Binkley (R), pastor and entrepreneur from Texas: dropped out of the race in February 2024 and endorsed Donald Trump.
Updated March 18, 2024: This article has been updated throughout.
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Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other Hollywood news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.
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