This election year, many are dissatisfied with the projected presidential nominees – Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden. There are a growing number of people who want new candidates for both parties. The DNC and RNC should consult with both major candidates and better support others who are running.
To begin, voters have become more and more pessimistic about the political climate in America. An AP NORC survey showed that 68 percent of adults feel this way. This is expected since the U.S. has become more and more politically divided on topics such as immigration, inflation, and education.
Next, President Biden’s base is becoming more unsupportive of him due to his position on Israel. In a Reuters/Ipsos poll, the results showed that 56 percent of Democrats were less likely to support a candidate who gives military aid to Israel. They are saying that the Israeli military is purposefully targeting Palestinians, despite their government stating they only want Hamas gone. Also, many of these Democrats feel that Biden is not listening to their demands to provide Gaza with more aid or to call for a ceasefire.
Additionally, a substantial number of Republicans are refusing to vote for Donald Trump if he becomes the party’s nominee. A survey done by AP News shows that 2 in 10 Iowa voters, one-third of New Hampshire voters, and one-quarter of South Carolina voters would not vote for him in the fall. Something that plays a big part in this is Trump’s court cases. “We don’t know that Trump will run into more legal problems and be disqualified, and I’d rather not see Biden in there for another four years,” said Bill Baltzell, 60. This is what caused many Republicans to turn to Nikki Haley, with a sizeable minority voting for her in some states before she dropped out of the race after Super Tuesday.
Some Democrats may say that Biden’s foreign policies do not matter when talking about his reelection; however, it is important to consider the amount of people who are becoming more opposed to him. For Republicans, they may say that Trump’s legal issues should not be a factor in this presidential race, but it should be examined how a possible conviction could affect his ability to run or how it could alienate his base.
Neither party has indicated it is willing to consider an alternative candidate. The DNC has united in support of Biden, saying that no back-up plan is needed to beat a Republican nominee, according to NBC news. This is a leading reason other Democratic candidates have experienced obstacles in their campaigns. Moreover, RNC chairwoman, Ronna McDaniel, who recently resigned, said that “whoever voters choose is the appropriate nominee” when asked by CNN if they would back Trump even if he were convicted. This means that the RNC will likely provide unwavering support to the nominee, regardless of any conflict within the committee.
However, the age of both Biden and Trump is a significant issue for voters. In a new Statista poll, 73 percent of registered voters somewhat/strongly agree that Biden is too old to be president. It also showed that 42 percent of these voters think that Trump is too old to be president. People are concerned about this because of video clips arising of both candidates having supposed memory and cognitive lapses.
Overall, the conventions for both parties should discuss the problems above with Biden and Trump, and provide better promotion for other candidates, such as Dean Philips, Marianne Williamson, who are Democrats, and Nikki Haley, a Republican. This way, they would have the opportunity to appeal to more voters.
