Donald Trump

Qualifications/Former Positions:

• President from 2016-2020

• Other elected positions

• Business owner

Positions on the Main Issues:

• Climate: While Trump has acknowledged that humans are at least partially responsible for climate change, he has minimized the effects in his statements and undone legislation designed to help move the U.S. away from fossil fuels (source).

• Abortion: Trump has refused to make a statement on whether or not he supports a federal abortion ban. His stance is further obscured by unclear and contradictory statements on state abortion bans, and supports exceptions from abortion bans in the case of rape, incest, and the life of the person who is pregnant (source).

• Immigration: Trump supports ending birthright citizenship for people born in the United States to undocumented immigrants. He wants to reinstate a policy requiring asylum seekers from Mexico to stay in Mexico until their court date, has promised to stop immigrants from accessing welfare benefits (source), and will reinstate his policy of banning people from some majority Muslim nations from entering the U.S. (source).

• The Economy: Trump has said that he will not cut Social Security or Medicare and has told Republicans in Congress to avoid the issue (source). He wants to continue cutting corporate taxes and expand tariffs on all imports (source 1, source 2).

Nikki Haley

Qualifications/Former Positions:

• Governor of South Carolina from 2011-2017

• U.S. ambassador to the U.N. from Jan 2017-Dec 2018

Positions on the Main Issues:

• Climate: Haley has acknowledged that climate change is real, but claims India and China are to blame. She does not support subsidies for electric vehicles, saying that they “are not working,” which is false (source), and made a statement as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations supporting President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement (source).

• Abortion: Haley supports a federal abortion ban (source) and signed a 20-week abortion ban as governor of South Carolina. The ban she signed in South Carolina contains an exception for the life of the person who is pregnant, but not for rape or incest (source).

• Immigration: Like Trump, Haley supports ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants, and supports the “remain in Mexico” policy. She disagrees with Trump’s ban on immigrants from majority-Muslim nations but said it should apply only to countries with terrorist activity (source).

• The Economy: Haley supports raising the retirement age and implementing various other reforms to Social Security and Medicare. She also wants to eliminate SALT, a cap on local and state tax deductions, as well as reduce income taxes and eliminate the federal gas tax (source 1, source 2).

Ron DeSantis

Qualifications/Former Positions:

• Governor of Florida from 2019-now

• Representative for Florida’s 6th district from 2013-2018

Positions on the Main Issues:

• Climate: DeSantis has acknowledged that climate change is real, but does not believe that humans are causing it. He stated while campaigning that he would like to expand oil and gas production and he does not support the Paris Climate Accord (source 1, source 2).

• Abortion: DeSantis supports a federal abortion ban. In Florida, he signed a 6-week abortion ban with exceptions for rape and incest, given documentation, and to save the life of the mother (source).

• Immigration: DeSantis wants to expand detention at the border and increase the numbers and pay of Border Patrol agents. He also wants to finish the border wall started by Trump. Like Haley and Trump, he also supports ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants (source).

• The Economy: DeSantis previously raised the retirement age but has since said that he will not touch Social Security. He opposes canceling student debt and cutting defense spending (source).

Joe Biden

Qualifications/Former Positions:

• President from 2020-now

• Vice president under Obama (2008-2016)

Positions on the Main Issues:

• Climate: Biden believes climate change is caused by human activity. He has supported various bills to reduce carbon emissions and increase energy efficiency (source).

• Abortion: Biden supports legal abortion access, including legal access to mifepristone (a pill used in medication abortions) (source 1, source 2).

• Immigration: Biden supports allowing undocumented immigrants to gain citizenship, and allowing more refugees into the United States (source).

• The Economy: Biden says he will continue Social Security and Medicare, and that he will raise taxes on the wealthy (source). He also wants to continue canceling or reducing student debt (source 1, source 2). 

Dean Phillips

Qualifications/Former Positions:

• Representative for Minnesota’s 3rd district from 2019-now

• Businessman

Positions on the Main Issues:

• Climate: Phillips supports tax credits for clean energy and electric vehicles (source).

• Abortion: Phillips opposes a federal abortion ban, and supports legal access to abortion (source). 

• Immigration: Phillips supports allowing current undocumented immigrants to have a way to become citizens, making the process for people to gain permission to enter the country faster, and expanding border security (source).

• The Economy: Phillips does not have a stated position on raising the retirement age, and has unclear positions on taxes and other government spending (such as defense spending). However, he wants to take a targeted approach to reducing student debt (source).

Marianne Williamson

Qualifications/Former Positions:

• Author

• Activist

• Ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020

Positions on the Main Issues:

• Climate: Williamson believes climate change is driven by human activity, and supports action by the government as a solution (source).

• Abortion: Williamson supports access to abortion as it existed while Roe v. Wade was still in effect (source).

• Immigration: Williamson supports creating a way for undocumented immigrants to become citizens, expanding protections for asylum seekers, increasing regulation of Border Security agents, and raising the number of available visas (source).

• The Economy: Williamson supports raising taxes on wealthy Americans and protecting social security (source). She also wants to create a Department of Peace, hoping to reduce military spending (source).

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Qualifications/Former Positions:

• Lawyer

Positions on the Main Issues:

• Climate: Kennedy Jr. believes climate change is tied to human activity. He supports solutions via the market instead of government regulation (source).

• Abortion: Kennedy Jr. supports legal abortion access (source).

• Immigration: Kennedy Jr. has stated he sees the situation at the border “primarily as a humanitarian crisis,” and that he hopes to solve it by increasing border security and expanding the number of courts that hear asylum cases (source).

• The Economy: Kennedy Jr. supports cutting military spending and canceling student debt in order to increase spending in other areas (source).

Iowa Caucus Results

In Iowa, on January 15th, a Republican caucus took place as the parties begin to determine their nominees for the general election in November. Donald Trump won with 51% of the votes. Ron DeSantis came in second, winning 21% of the votes, and Nikki Haley came in third. The Iowa caucus is the first in the process of selecting a nominee. 

The results show that, despite being in legal trouble, Trump is still far in the lead among Republican voters.

What’s Next?

On January 23rd, both Democrats and Republicans in New Hampshire hold primaries (another type of election to determine the nominee for president) followed by a Democratic primary in South Carolina on February 3rd and one in Nevada on February 6th. After the wins and losses in the Iowa caucus, the Republican candidates will return to campaigning and attempt to gain the lead from Trump as they head into more primaries and caucuses. In July and August, the parties will convene for their national conventions, followed by vice-presidential debates in September and presidential debates in October before the presidential election on November 5th. 

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