Nine Republican candidates have qualified for the party's debates so far as they seek their party's nomination to take on Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden, who is running for re-election in the November 2024 presidential contest.
Here is a list of the leading candidates.
REPUBLICAN PARTY
DONALD TRUMP
Trump, 77, has embraced his indictments in four separate state or federal criminal cases - unprecedented for a former American president - which have boosted his popularity among Republicans, and helped make him the frontrunner in his party's race for the presidential nomination.
Trump has called the indictments part of a politically motivated witch hunt to thwart his pursuit of a second four-year term, an assertion that the Justice Department has denied. In a sign of his extraordinary hold on his party, just two rivals at the first Republican presidential debate on Aug. 23 said they would not support him as the nominee if he were convicted.
Trump has vowed to enact tougher immigration restrictions and harsher curbs on trade with China and to carry out political reprisals against those he perceives to have wronged him. He has a firm grip on his party's right wing but may struggle to get moderates and independents to support him in a general election should he win the Republican nomination.
RON DESANTIS
After a glitch-filled campaign launch in May on Twitter, now called X, DeSantis has positioned himself to the right of Trump on a number of key social issues such as abortion. But his well-funded campaign has struggled to gain traction, and his top donor has said he won't give the Florida governor more money unless DeSantis adopts a more moderate approach.
DeSantis, 45, is Trump's top rival, but remains nearly 40 percentage points behind the former president in opinion polls. He has fired staff and rebooted his campaign several times since May, but those steps have done little to boost his candidacy. DeSantis' campaign says it is focused on stopping Trump in Iowa, where the party will hold its first nominating contest in January.
MIKE PENCE
Trump's vice president has broken with his former boss over Trump supporters' Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol as Pence was inside, presiding over Congress's certification of Biden's 2020 victory. Pence, 64, says, "history will hold Trump accountable" for his role in the attack.
A staunch conservative, the former Indiana governor is appealing directly to the evangelical Christian community. His campaign, however, has struggled to raise money and he is stuck in the low single digits in opinion polls.
VIVEK RAMASWAMY
A former biotechnology investor and executive, Ramaswamy, 38, started a company in 2022 to pressure firms to abandon environmental, social, and corporate governance initiatives. The political outsider has stoked grassroots chatter as a potential alternative to Trump.
Ramaswamy is a fervent supporter of the former president and says that if he won the White House, he would pardon Trump.
According to Reuters/Ipsos polling conducted from Sept. 8-14, his support stood at 13% among Republicans, a close third to DeSantis, who is fighting to preserve his status as the second-place candidate.
NIKKI HALEY
A former South Carolina governor and Trump's ambassador to the United Nations, Haley, 51, has emphasized her relative youth compared to Biden and Trump, as well as her background as the daughter of Indian immigrants.
Haley has gained a reputation in the Republican Party as a solid conservative who has the ability to address issues of gender and race in a more credible fashion than many of her peers. She has also pitched herself as a stalwart defender of American interests abroad. She has low single-digit support among Republicans, according to opinion polls.
TIM SCOTT
The only Black Republican U.S. senator has low name recognition outside his home state of South Carolina, but his optimism and focus on unifying his divided party have helped him draw a contrast with a more aggressive approach from Trump and DeSantis. Scott's supporters, however, acknowledge that while his sunny demeanor is a selling point, it may not be enough to win. Scott, 58, attracted 2% support among Republicans, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling conducted from Sept. 8 through Sept. 14.
ASA HUTCHINSON
The former Arkansas governor launched his bid in April with a call for Trump to step aside to deal with his first indictment. Hutchinson, 72, has touted his experience leading his deeply conservative state as proof he can deliver on policies Republican voters care about, citing tax cuts and job creation initiatives. Hutchinson qualified for the first Republican debate, but not the second one.
CHRIS CHRISTIE
Christie, 61, advised Trump's White House campaign, but became a vocal critic of the former president after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. The former New Jersey governor and federal prosecutor has stepped up his verbal attacks on Trump as he faces a growing number of criminal charges. Christie has received about 2% support among Republicans in Reuters/Ipsos polls.
DOUG BURGUM
Burgum, 67, is serving his second four-year term as North Dakota's governor after selling his software business to Microsoft in 2001. A proponent of low taxes and fewer regulations, he has sought to portray himself as a traditional conservative with a focus on the economy and national security. One of the least-known contenders, he gets close to no support in polls.
OTHER CANDIDATES
Several other Republicans are also vying for the nomination, including former U.S. congressman Will Hurd and right-wing radio host Larry Elder, though neither has gained enough traction so far to qualify for the debates.
DEMOCRATIC PARTY
JOE BIDEN
Biden, 80, already the oldest U.S. president ever, will have to convince voters he has the stamina for another four years in office, amid concerns about his age and poor approval ratings. Biden allies say he believes he is the only Democratic candidate who can defeat Trump. In announcing his candidacy, Biden declared it was his job to defend American democracy, and referred to the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters. Vice President Kamala Harris is again his running mate. The economy will factor in his re-election campaign. While the U.S. escaped an expected recession and is growing faster than economists expected, inflation hit 40-year highs in 2022 and the cost of food and gas is weighing on voters.
Biden has led the response of Western governments to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, persuading allies to sanction Russia and support Kyiv. At home, he has pushed through massive economic stimulus and infrastructure spending packages, although he has received little recognition from voters for the latter.
Biden's handling of immigration policy has been criticized by Republicans and Democrats as migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border hit record highs during his administration.
ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR
An anti-vaccine activist, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, 69, launched a long-shot bid to challenge Biden for the Democratic nomination, but he is far behind in opinion polls and is soon expected to announce a run as an independent.
He is the son of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968 during his own presidential bid. Kennedy was banned from Instagram for spreading misinformation about vaccines and the COVID-19 pandemic, but was later reinstated. He lost a legal bid to force YouTube owner Google to reinstate videos of him questioning the safety of COVID vaccines.
MARIANNE WILLIAMSON
The best-selling author and self-help guru Marianne Williamson, 71, has launched her second, long-shot bid for the White House on a platform of "justice and love." She ran as a Democrat in the 2020 presidential primary but dropped out of the race before any votes had been cast. She launched her latest campaign on March 23.
INDEPENDENTS
CORNEL WEST
The political activist, philosopher and academic said in June he would launch a third-party bid for president that is likely to appeal to progressive, Democrat-leaning voters.
West was originally running as a Green Party candidate, but in October said that people "want good policies over partisan politics" and announced his bid as an independent. He has promised to end poverty and guarantee housing.
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