We are a year away from the general election Nov. 5, 2024, but the election season is already underway. As we gear up to go to the polls beginning in Iowa January 15, over the next several weeks we want to look at what will shape how the electorate votes. What will be the driving force: the candidates, the economy, the open border, abortion, governmental spending, foreign policy, alleged corruption in elected officials, or all of the above?
We will use polling data, research materials and interviews as we investigate which topics will move the electorate needle toward Republicans, Democrats or Independents, potentially showing who has the advantage and where. We will also look at the candidates and their position on our topics.
As we begin the Democratic National Convention (DNC) has made it plain that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are the Democrat party presumptive nominees for the presidency. As incumbents, that is no surprise.
However, the DNC rejecting debates, town halls, forums, everything pitting Biden and now-Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was surprising. Kennedy took the action as an all-out attack by the “establishment” to keep him from having a legitimate opportunity at the presidency.
Kennedy declared “his independence” from the Democrat party on Oct. 9th at a rally in Philadelphia, giving the 2024 presidential election an alternative to the traditional two-party spilt. How will Kennedy’s 2024 decision affect the electorate? Will Biden and the eventual Republican candidate lose significant votes from Kennedy’s party switch? Political analyst for 538 Geoffrey Skelly told ABC News it was difficult to distinguish which party was more vulnerable to losing voters to Kennedy as an Independent. He noted that although the Kennedy’s name is synonymous with democratic politics, RFK had significant popularity with Republican voters.
The whopping Republican field of 14 candidates have had two drop-out – Francis Suarez, Miami, Florida Mayor and Will Hurd, former Texas congressional representative. The rest include the front-running favorite, former President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former South Carolina Governor & U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, investor Vivek Ramaswamy, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, Texas businessman & pastor Ryan Binkley, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, and conservative media personality Larry Elder.
A recent Gallup poll revealed neither the Democrat or Republican party are well-liked by the American voters. Of those surveyed, 56% view Republicans unfavorably and 58% say the same about Democrats. However, Americans view Republicans with a higher margin of favorability on safeguarding national prosperity and security.
Fifty-three percent of Americans told Gallup that Republicans would do a better job of generating national prosperity over the next few years, whereas 39% choose the Democratic Party. A slightly larger majority, 57%, have greater faith in Republicans to protect the country from international terrorism and military threats, while 35% favor the Democrats.
Robyn Spradlin is a freelance journalist working as a contributor for Christian News Journal covering news and politics on the national and state levels. She has worked as a copywriter for Victory News on the Victory Channel since 2022. Robyn has an BA in Communication Studies and MA in Journalism from Regent University and is a member of the Evangelical Press Association. She is an author, evangelistic minister and a musician.