This election on November 5, 2024, is consequential not only for the many ballot measures and senate race that will be voted on within California. However, the presidential election is this year after the sitting president spends one term in office, with a term lasting four years.
The current president, Joe Biden, has chosen not to run in this year’s presidential primary after a disastrous debate with Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump. This allows his current Vice President, Kamala Harris, to get the Democratic Party nomination for president in the 2024 election.
In California, there are technically six presidential candidates on the ballot this year. Current Vice President Kamala Harris is the Democratic party nominee, while former President Donald Trump is the Republican nominee. One independent candidate getting news attention is Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who ended his campaign and dropped out of the race. He is still on the ballot in many states. As such, this article will not discuss his policies. The other candidates are third-party candidates, as they are affiliated with a political party other than the Democrats or Republicans. They are Jill Stein of the Green Party, Chase Oliver of the Libertarian Party, and Claudia De la Cruz from the Peace and Freedom Party.
Due to the Electoral College, mathematically, only the Democratic and Republican nominees for president have a real shot. Most states award their electoral votes in a winner-take-all system, with a candidate needing to win 270 electoral votes to win the presidential election.
Even if it is mathematically impossible for third-party candidates and independents to win in the current political climate, they run anyway. Some of their policy choices drastically differ from the two mainstream parties. As such, the rest of the article will be dedicated to communicating the differing policies of the presidential candidates.
Economy:
According to Newsweek, Kamala Harris is campaigning on the promise of an “opportunity economy” which includes addressing the housing crisis by “build[ing] three million affordable rental units and homes, provide first-time buyers with up to $25,000 for down payments, as well as to “cut red tape” preventing home construction” as well as “investing into new industries”. Along with offering tax credits to employers with a unionized workforce in steel and iron making and pegging, “increased investment in the biomanufacturing and aerospace industries and committed to “remain[ing] dominant” in artificial intelligence and quantum computing.” Her plans also include a federal ban on “price gouging” which is when a seller sets the price higher than the fair market value due to supply and demand causing higher profits.
While according to Newsweek, Donald Trump plans to “”unleash” America’s natural oil and gas reserves in an effort to reduce fuel costs and inflation, as well as to increase the country’s energy independence.” Along with promising to pay off the country’s debt.
Meanwhile, according to the Green Party website, Jill Stein believes in community-based economics. The Greens plan to accomplish this by “…support[ing] redesigning our work structures to encourage employee ownership and workplace democracy. We support developing new economic activities and institutions that allow us to use technology in ways that are humane, freeing, ecological, and responsive and accountable to communities. We support establishing a form of basic economic security open to all. We call for moving beyond the narrow ‘job ethic’ to new definitions of ‘work,’ ‘jobs’ and ‘income’ in a cooperative and democratic economy. We support restructuring our patterns of income distribution to reflect the wealth created by those outside the formal monetary economy – those who take responsibility for parenting, housekeeping, home gardens, community volunteer work, and the like. We support restricting the size and concentrated power of corporations without discouraging superior efficiency or technological innovation.”
According to the Libertarian Party website, the Libertarian Party believes in Economic Liberty. According to them, this means “…want[ing] all members of society to have abundant opportunities to achieve economic success. A free and competitive market allocates resources in the most efficient manner. Each person has the right to offer goods and services to others on the free market. The only proper role of government in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is protected. All efforts by government to redistribute wealth, or to control or manage trade, are improper in a free society.”
Meanwhile, according to its website, the Peace and Freedom Party believes in socialism, which states “… support[ing] social ownership and democratic management of industry and natural resources. Under capitalism, the proceeds of labor go to the profits of the wealthy few. With socialism, production is planned to meet human needs.”
Foreign Policy:
According to the Council of Foreign Relations, Kamala Harris said she would ensure that “America, not China, wins the competition for the twenty-first century.” She argued that we should de-risk instead of decoupling from China. While with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), she has positioned herself as a strong supporter of NATO and multilateral cooperation. Along with this, she has vowed to support Ukraine against Russia for “as long as it takes.” While with Israel and Gaza, she “backs Israel’s right to self-defense but has also been outspoken about the toll on Palestinian civilians amid the war between Israel and Hamas. She supports an immediate cease-fire and hostage release as well as a two-state solution to the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
According to the Council of Foreign Relations, Donald Trump “…says aggressive action is required to protect American workers and to reduce the United States’ large bilateral trade deficit.” While with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and on alliances, “…Trump significantly increased defense spending and created a separate branch of the armed forces to address space competition. He also reoriented the United States’ national security and defense strategy to focus on great-power competition with China and Russia and provoked European allies by threatening to abandon a Cold War-era mutual defense alliance.” With the Middle East, he “…has been defined by strong support for Israel and Saudi Arabia and a confrontational stance toward Iran. He points to his efforts to broker a regional peace deal and his focus on defeating Islamic terrorist groups such as the self-proclaimed Islamic State.” While with Ukraine, he “claims he could quickly resolve the war in Ukraine. He also says that he wouldn’t commit to approving additional U.S. aid to Ukraine if reelected, saying European countries need to increase their own contributions.”
Meanwhile, according to their website, the Green party called conflict with China “Marching To Disaster,” believes that there should be an end to hostilities and demilitarization of the Israel-Palistine borders with Israel committing genocide in Gaza, along with calling for a ceasefire and diplomatic solution to the Russo Ukranian war.
According to the Libertarian Party website, the Libertarian Party believes that “foreign policy should emphasize peace with all nations, entangling alliances with none. We would end the current U.S. government policies of foreign intervention including military and economic aid; tariffs; economic sanctions; and regime change. We recognize the right of all people to resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights. We condemn the use of force, and especially the use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups.”
The Peace and Freedom party, according to their website, believes that the world is headed toward a cold war with China and Russia, heading to catastrophic, unprecedented conflict due to “…the unmitigated aggressiveness and recklessness of the politicians and Pentagon generals.” They also believe in “…the abolition of the NATO military alliance and AFRICOM. Cruel economic sanctions imposed on countries around the world – including Cuba, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Eritrea, North Korea and Iran – must be lifted. All U.S. aid to apartheid Israel must immediately end.” Along with ending all U.S. aid to Israel which they call an apartheid state to “End the Genocide and Free Palestine.”
LGBTQ Rights:
According to CBS News, Kamala “Harris has generally been an early adopter of pro-LGBTQ policies and stances, doing so before other prominent members of her party.”
According to CBS News, Donald Trump “…has been inconsistent on the issue during his time in the public eye, and his administration rolled back protections for LGBTQ people — especially transgender individuals.”
Meanwhile, according to their website, the Greens believe in Social Justice And Equal Opportunity along with Feminism And Gender Equity. As a result, they call for “…the replacement of the cultural ethics of domination and control with cooperative ways of interacting that respect differences of opinion and gender. Human values such as gender equity, interpersonal responsibility, and honesty must be developed with moral conscience.” Along with confronting ”…in ourselves, our organizations, and society at large, any discrimination by race, class, gender, sexual orientation, age, nationality, religion, or physical or mental ability that denies fair treatment and equal justice under the law.”
According to the Libertarian Party website, the Libertarian Party asserts that “Attacks on Trans people are an attack on Liberty,” with the caveat at the end of the article, “As is always true, Libertarians are not a monolith. We do not all share the same worldviews or opinions, and we certainly do not all make the same choices in our own lives. What unites Libertarians over any slogan or soundbite is the shared belief that all individuals deserve to live their lives as they see best and to be free to do so without the interference of an overreaching state that cannot possibly know the love and consideration and struggles that go into such important decisions.”
According to their website, the Peace and Freedom Party believes in equal rights and liberties. They “…demand equal treatment of all people by employers, businesses, and government. We stand for a world free from all forms of oppression.”
Overall:
All parties have differing views on many issues, but one constant remains evident: If you can vote, please do so, as it is one way for your voice to be heard in the current political system. This election is also one of the most competitive and close in modern politics.
