Election: voter guide and predictions

Early look at November voting choices

Anthony Santa Maria, Monte Vista High SchoolMay 7, 2020Leave a Comment

Queerbaiting aside, a person’s true sexuality is no one else’s business

Talon thrives despite quarantine

Is social media a boon or to blame?

Pixabay

April is far too early to handicap the 2020 presidential election in November, but I’ve been following developments regularly. I watch Fox News, especially Tucker Carlson, and follow CNN and Fox News on Instagram. Here’s a snapshot of what the race looked like to me as of mid-April

THE CANDIDATES

Joe Biden

The former vice president threw his hat in the race later than most people thought he would. This is not Biden’s first run at the presidency. He ran for the Democratic nomination in 1988 as well as 2008. He was one of Delaware’s senators from 1973 until 2008.

As of mid-April, Biden has received the endorsements from most of the other Democratic candidates who dropped out: Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Robert “Beto” O’Rourke, Amy Kloubachar, Mike Bloomberg and Elizabeth Warren.

The Biden campaign got off to a slow start. However, the “Super Tuesday” primaries on March 3 turned it all around. Biden surged past the leading Sanders campaign to become the favorite to win the Democratic nomination. Biden took 10 out of the 14 states and racked up 513 delegates to Sanders’ 435. Biden finally went on to clinch the nomination after Sanders suspended his campaign on April 13 and endorsed him. Biden also finally received the endorsement of his former boss, President Barack Obama on April 14. He stated, “The kind of leadership that’s guided by knowledge and experience, honesty and humility, empathy and grace — that kind of leadership doesn’t just belong in our state capitols and mayors offices. It belongs in the White House.”

Donald Trump

The incumbent, Donald Trump, has rallied nearly all of the Republican party around him in the past three years. This former real estate mogul has redefined the political landscape. He has no challengers for the Republican ticket.

President Trump continues to be very popular among his supporters. As of April, he had won every state’s Republican primary with over 95 percent of the vote in each state. His primary voting totals continue to outdo those of his Democratic candidates combined in most states.

Trump continues to gain support despite the current conditions of the economy from Coronavirus. Unemployment levels have shot up to even greater numbers than seen in the financial crisis of 2008. However, Trump doesn’t believe this will be something that will ultimately be his achilles heel.”

THE PLATFORMS

Biden

Biden is seen as the moderate Democrat, not being so far left. He didn’t pronounce himself a socialist as Sanders and many of his party’s youth did. However, his platform is much like Sanders, just not to the same extent. It is very reminiscent of his former boss’s platform in 2008, President Obama, and here are some of his biggest objectives:

Raise the federal minimum wage
Two years of college free
Fix student debt relief programs
Expand gun laws
Loosen immigration policy
Some restrictions on abortion
Let states decide marijuana legalization
Boost defense budget
Increase capital gains tax
Relax Chinese trade restrictions

Trump

Love him or hate him, you have to admit that President Trump has stayed true to many of the positions he laid out four years ago. His platform, for the most part, is identical to his in 2016. Here are his 2020 biggest campaign points: