By MAGGIE BRADY
The 2024 presidential election season has officially begun, with potential nominees making their way across the country, hoping to gain support in the primary elections. Their first stop was in Iowa where the Republican caucus was held on Monday, January 15. New Hampshire followed closely behind, holding their primary election on January 23. The rest of the states will be holding their own primary elections through the beginning of June.
Candidates have been preparing for months for the chance to win their party’s presidential nomination. While the Democratic Party nomination is all but guaranteed to incumbent Joe Biden, the Republican nomination is up for grabs.
The most prominent Republican candidates heading into the primary season were former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and former president Donald Trump.
Haley was elected as governor of South Carolina in 2010, becoming the first minority female governor and the youngest governor in the country at the time. During her time as governor, Haley signed the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act and the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act which outlawed abortion at twenty weeks. According to Haley’s website, she is “one of the most pro-life governors in America.”
Despite her conservative views, she supported the prosecutions of January 6 rioters and suggested Trump should be held responsible. Now, Trump is her biggest adversary when it comes to gaining the Republican nomination.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis seemed most likely to take down Trump going into the primary elections. His pro-life views and signing of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill made him a popular candidate among Republican voters. According to DeSantis’ website, “no leader has accomplished more for his state than Governor DeSantis.”
At the beginning of the election season, it was unclear if former president Trump would be allowed to run. Despite his two impeachments and four indictments, Trump is the current favorite to win out of the Republican candidates.
However, it won’t be as easy for Trump as it was in 2016, with both Colorado and Maine removing Trump from their Republican primary ballots. According to CNN, this decision was based on the 14th Amendment, “which says public officials who have ‘engaged in insurrection’ are disqualified from ever serving again.”
Several other states including Minnesota, Michigan, Oregon, and Arizona attempted to remove Trump from their ballots. However, these lawsuits were quickly dropped.
Even with these setbacks, Trump sailed to an easy victory in Iowa. He received a whopping 51% of votes, gaining 20 delegates. In second place was DeSantis with 21.2% of votes, gaining 9 delegates. Not far behind was Haley, winning 19.1% of votes, gaining 8 delegates.
According to NPR, “to win the party nomination, a GOP candidate needs a majority of available delegates to vote for them at the Republican National Convention in July.” This year, candidates must receive 1,215 delegates to receive the Republican nomination.
Shortly after the Iowa caucus, DeSantis announced that he would be ending his campaign, then placed his full support behind Trump. In a video on X, DeSantis stated: “[Trump] has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear, a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents.”
His announcement came just two days before the New Hampshire primary election. Trump still received a majority of votes, gaining 12 delegates. However, Haley’s support saw a major improvement from Iowa. She received 43.2% of votes, gaining 9 delegates.
With 48 states still to hold primary elections, Trump is currently leading with 32 delegates to Haley’s 17. According to NPR, “about 36% of delegates will be decided on March 5, or Super Tuesday, and about 70% of Republican delegates will be allocated by the end of March.”
Maryland will hold its primary election on Tuesday, May 14. Maryland residents 18 and older can visit elections.maryland.gov for more information on how to register to vote.
February 2024
The Prowler 