Who Is Running for President in 2024? Confirmed and Rumored Republican and Democratic Candidates

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Nikki Haley

Nikki Haley.

WADE VANDERVORT/AFP via Getty

Age: 51

Party: Republican

Candidacy: Confirmed

On June 30, the former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President Trump told reporters in Iowa that she is open to running for president in 2024 “if there’s a place for me.” The Des Moines Register reported that Nikki Haley said, “I’ve never lost a race. I’m not going to start now. I’ll put 1,000 percent in and I’ll finish it.”

On Feb. 14, Haley officially made the leap, announcing her candidacy with a video and donation link on social media.

In a July 2022 poll conducted by The New York Times/Siena College, Haley was tied with Mike Pence for fourth place in a hypothetical question about which rumored candidate Republicans would support in 2024. Since then, she seems to have faded out of the conversation more as Pence and DeSantis take center stage, but her early candidacy could help her change that.

Haley has been a supporter of Trump since he earned the Republican Party nomination in 2016, later calling him a “friend” and tweeting in January 2021 that she was “really proud of the successes of the Trump administration.” Following the deadly Capitol riots, she delivered mixed messages on her support of Trump, at once bashing his critics and calling his actions a letdown. Later in 2021, she said that if Trump runs for president again, she will support him and not contest him — though she has clearly moved past that.

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Vivek Ramaswamy

Vivek Ramaswamy.

Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Age: 37

Party: Republican

Candidacy: Confirmed

A leading manufacturer of the corporate anti-woke movement, conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is eager to take on Trump in the Republican primary, announcing his presidential campaign in late February 2023. The businessman is running on a platform of unity — one that’s deceivingly divisive.

Ramaswamy, an Ohio native whose parents immigrated from India, has been outspoken against companies using their platforms for social causes and has echoed views of many far-right Republicans today that America’s values are in decline, citing critical race theory, affirmative action, environmentalism and self-victimization as things that he believes destroyed the nation’s once-shared identity.

“We’ve celebrated our ‘diversity’ so much that we forgot all the ways we’re really the same as Americans, bound by ideals that united a divided, headstrong group of people 250 years ago,” he wrote in a tweet when he announced his campaign. “I believe deep in my bones those ideals still exist. I’m running for President to revive them.”

In addition to founding tech and health care companies, Ramaswamy is the best-selling author of Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam, leading the New Yorker to dub him as the “CEO of Anti-Woke, Inc.” His book proved him a political thought leader in conservative spheres and earned him regular appearances on Fox News alongside Tucker Carlson, whose hot-tempered tone has seemingly rubbed off on Ramaswamy.

To many on the right, Ramaswamy is a familiar face with intriguing ideas about business and the economy, which will prove a useful reputation as he fights his way through the Republican primary season with far more prominent GOP opponents. The question is whether he can really unite Americans in the way he hopes, or if his foray into right-wing culture wars will come back to haunt him.

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Marianne Williamson

Marianne Williamson.

Emma McIntyre/Getty

Age: 70

Party: Democratic

Candidacy: Confirmed

Marianne Williamson became the first notable Democratic candidate in the 2024 race, revealing in March 2023 that she would be again seeking the nation’s highest office.

The self-help author, who has written 14 books, previously ran in the 2020 presidential race. She struggled to gain traction with primary voters, instead making headlines for strange quotes on the campaign trail, like how her first act as president would be to tell then-New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, “Girlfriend, you are so on,” and how the only way Trump could be defeated was by channeling “love.”

Williamson’s signature 2020 policy proposal called for $200 to $500 billion to be distributed by Black American leaders for community development and education. Her policy platform also generally aligned with the Democratic mainstream, including proposals to perform gun laws, combat man-made climate change and provide universal health care.

06

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John Bolton

John Bolton.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty

Age: 74

Party: Republican

Candidacy: Expected

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton has announced plans to challenge his ex-boss Donald Trump on the 2024 presidential ballot.

Bolton — whose resume includes serving as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations under George W. Bush and an assistant attorney general under Ronald Reagan — is a controversial figure all around, one who was plucked from his role as chairman of the anti-Muslim think tank Gatestone Institute to join Trump’s administration. As the national security advisor he showed hostility to international organizations, which he has long characterized as threats to U.S. sovereignty (despite serving as U.N. ambassador).

Bolton left the Trump administration on bad terms and has since feuded with the former president a number of times, heightened by a tell-all memoir of his time in the White House that painted Trump in a negative light.

In January 2023, Bolton exclusively told a British news station that he would run for president in 2024, arguing that Trump was facing a “terminal decline” in the GOP and that he has the foreign policy experience necessary to better position the U.S. internationally. His chances of defeating Trump — or any other big names in the race — are slim, but that hasn’t seemed to damage his confidence.

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Mike Pompeo

Meg Kinnard/AP/Shutterstock

Age: 59

Party: Republican

Candidacy: Likely

One of Donald Trump’s secretaries of state, Mike Pompeo suggested in September that he is “doing the things one would do to get ready” for a presidential run in 2024, noting that he’s strategically established teams in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina to test the waters.

“We are trying to figure out if [the White House] is the next place for us to serve,” Pompeo told a Chicago crowd. “If we conclude it is, we’ll go make the case to the American people of why that is. And in the end, the American people, I pray, will make a good decision about who’s going to be their next leader.”

Prior to running the State Department from 2018-2021, Pompeo had served as director of the Central Intelligence Agency and represented Kansas in the U.S. House.

During his career, Pompeo has been a vocal opponent of combatting climate change, saying in 2019 that melting sea ice would help the Arctic region by creating new shipping routes and “opportunities for trade.” On abortion, he has expressed anti-choice sentiments — including making exceptions for rape — and he has opposed same-sex marriage.

Despite Trump’s bid for reelection in 2024, Pompeo seems intrigued, declaring during his September remarks: “I’m deeply grateful to have been hired as secretary of state, and I hope [Trump] enjoys retirement.”

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Rick Scott

Rick Scott.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty

Age: 69

Party: Republican

Candidacy: Likely

Florida Sen. Rick Scott is believed to be considering a presidential run, even as fellow Floridians Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis hog the buzz. Scott’s had a rough go lately — rather than running for reelection as Senate GOP chair in November, he unsuccessfully ran to unseat Mitch McConnell as the Senate party leader, ultimately being ousted from the GOP leadership team altogether.

Scott preceded DeSantis as the governor of Florida, yet appears the underdog if he were to face DeSantis in a 2024 primary. Despite Scott’s past support of Trump, he has stayed noticeably quiet on whether he plans to rally behind the former president’s latest White House bid, further heightening suspicion of his own D.C. ambitions. That said, Scott’s chances of becoming a far-right president look rather slim as he remains in the shadow of other, flashier Republican stars.

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Tim Scott

Sen. Tim Scott.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty

Age: 57

Party: Republican

Candidacy: Likely

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott is well-positioned for a presidential run, proving one of the Republican Party’s best fundraisers who spent a significant amount of energy during his 2022 reelection campaign helping other GOP candidates earn support.

Scott has written a memoir, made trips to Iowa and said that the term beginning in January 2023 will be his last — all signs of someone preparing to declare candidacy for the White House. The biggest question is not whether he’ll run for president, but whether he’ll choose to run in 2024 or wait for a different election cycle.

Scott has demonstrated conservative views on issues like immigration, climate, health care, abortion and same-sex marriage.

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Chris Sununu

Chris Sununu.

David Becker/getty

Age: 48

Party: Republican

Candidacy: Likely

As the Republican governor of a historically Democratic state, Chris Sununu is automatically seen as a possible contender in the 2024 presidential election, due to his ability to garner bipartisan support amid a never-ending public relations crisis for the GOP. Leading New Hampshire since 2017, Gov. Sununu has been forced to adopt moderate views on social issues that matter to his constituents, like LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights, successfully earning himself a fourth term in office following the 2022 midterms.

Sununu — speaking at a November 2022 coalition meeting often attended by soon-to-be presidential contenders — seemed to take a dig at former President Donald Trump and his allies. asking the Republican audience to stop nominating “crazy, unelectable candidates.” The Washington Post quoted Sununu as saying, “People want to move on, there’s no doubt about that,” referring to the Trump era. “He’ll have to fight for [a nomination in 2024] like everybody else.”

The Republican governor had been giving mixed signals about a possible 2024 campaign until Feb. 8, 2023, when he revealed that he’d launched the “Live Free or Die” committee, which will test the waters nationwide to see if he has enough support to formally enter the race.

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Stacey Abrams

Stacey Abrams.

John Bazemore/AP/REX/Shutterstock

Age: 49

Party: Democratic

Candidacy: Rumored

Stacey Abrams, one of PEOPLE’s 2021 Women Changing the World, continues to be a rising star in the Democratic Party, credited with mobilizing the masses and helping turn Georgia blue in the 2020 election for the first time in nearly 30 years. That said, the Peach State has remained her focus thus far, as she sought the Georgia governorship for a second time in 2022, ultimately being defeated.

Abrams has openly declared her intention to run for president at some point in her career, but has not yet suggested that 2024 is the year. Up until recently, she had planned to be in the governor’s mansion until at least 2028. Now that she will not be carrying out a full term in Georgia, it’s unclear if she’ll face pressure from Democrats to speed up her timeline.

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Pete Buttigieg

Pete Buttigieg.

Susan Walsh/AP Photo

Age: 41

Party: Democratic

Candidacy: Rumored

Unknown to the world only a few years ago, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, quickly entered the conversation when he announced plans to run for president in the 2020 election. Pete Buttigieg placed fifth in the primaries after dropping out of the race and endorsing Joe Biden. He currently serves as the secretary of transportation for the Biden administration and has been deemed the most likely Democratic replacement for President Biden by political strategists.

Buttigieg, a former naval officer who served in Afghanistan, graduated from Harvard before attending Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar. He has proven whip-smart when it comes to policy, political strategy and foreign affairs, aided by his knowledge of eight languages and experience on multiple high-profile political campaigns, including John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign.

If voted the United States’ 47th leader, Buttigieg — a proud Christian — would become the youngest elected president sworn into office and the first openly gay president.

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Ted Cruz

Sen. Ted Cruz.

Jonathan Newton-Pool/Getty

Age: 52

Party: Republican

Candidacy: Rumored

After President Trump lost reelection in 2020, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz began branding himself as the next far-right leader to stand up for Trump-era values. He became a vocal proponent of overturning 2020 presidential election results and backed baseless claims of voter fraud while continuing to preach his conservative views on COVID-19 mandates, gun rights and immigration.

Cruz, who came in second to Trump in 2016’s Republican presidential primaries, has — like Trump —proven an expert at sparking controversy, often losing his battles in the court of public opinion. But he carries on, clinging to the support of an extremist base overlapping with the one that helped send Trump to the White House.

The former solicitor general of Texas has not declared candidacy yet, but has repeatedly hinted at the possibility, even telling a teenager-run conservative media outlet that he would do it “in a heartbeat,” adding, “There’s a reason historically that the runner-up is almost always the next nominee.” That all depends on who else joins the race, though, as Trump and some other, fresher faces in the Republican Party could cast a shadow over his campaign.

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Kamala Harris

Vice President Kamala Harris.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty

Age: 58

Party: Democratic

Candidacy: Rumored

The United States’ vice president to president pipeline is well-established, beginning with the nation’s first veep, John Adams, who went on to succeed George Washington. Since then, we’ve seen 14 additional VPs ascend to the highest office, the most recent being our current commander in chief, Joe Biden. Kamala Harris, an experienced attorney who climbed the political ranks relatively quickly, could be the next to vie for the White House — but only if her boss doesn’t run again, or steps out of the race before the Democratic primary.

Harris first gained prominence in her home state of California as the district attorney of San Francisco, which ultimately earned her a six-year stint as the California attorney general. She served as the junior senator of California for only four years before being sworn in as vice president.

If she were to run for the presidency in 2024, she would have a head start due to her familiarity with the role and obvious qualifications. But in order to find success, she’ll need to win members of her party back who have equated her with Biden’s ill-received performance. It will not be an easy task, but neither was becoming the nation’s first female, first Black and first Asian vice president.

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Amy Klobuchar

Amy Klobuchar.

Age: 62

Party: Democratic

Candidacy: Rumored

Sen. Amy Klobuchar has been a notable figure in Minnesota for several years, serving as the chief prosecutor for the state’s most populous county before becoming the first woman elected to represent Minnesota in U.S. Senate. But her grand entry to the national stage was in 2018, during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh, when an infamous exchange between the two about Kavanaugh’s drinking habits led many to question whether his temperament — on top of horrific sexual assault allegations already made against him — disqualified him to serve on the country’s highest court.

Klobuchar ran with the praise she earned for her precise questioning in the hearings and declared candidacy for president in the 2020 election, ultimately placing sixth in the Democratic primary and endorsing Joe Biden after dropping out of the race.

Though the senior Minnesota senator has some baggage — in 2019, a former aide accused her of treating her staff disrespectfully and creating a toxic work environment — she is a relatively safe candidate for the Democratic Party. Like Biden, she’s not too controversial and not too outspoken; also like Biden, though, she may struggle to excite voters at a time when enthusiasm is desperately needed.

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Gavin Newsom

Gavin Newsom.

Rich Pedroncelli/AP/Bloomberg via Getty

Age: 55

Party: Democratic

Candidacy: Rumored

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has a wealth of experience in his home state, formerly serving as lieutenant governor and San Francisco mayor, though it remains unclear how he would be received on the national level. In July, he aired a television ad in Florida markets targeting their Republican governor, Ron DeSantis — another rumored presidential candidate — leading some to wonder if he was testing the waters for a 2024 run. In November 2022, though, he reportedly promised the White House that he would sit out the next election if Biden chooses to run again.

Newsom, the onetime husband of conservative TV personality Kimberly Guilfoyle, has built a career around progressive values, allowing him to survive a recall campaign in 2021 and earning him a breezy reelection as California’s leader in the 2022 midterms.

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Kristi Noem

Stephen Groves/AP/Shutterstock

Age: 51

Party: Republican

Candidacy: Rumored

A former U.S. representative and the current South Dakota governor, Kristi Noem has been rumored to be considering a presidential run, despite her current race for reelection.

South Dakota Public Broadcasting noted that Noem ran digital ads in three states beyond where she lives, each of which have early presidential primaries and are considered key states to win in order to get a major party’s nomination. Previously asked by CBS News’ chief White House correspondent if she was considering a presidential bid, Noem said, “I don’t rule it out. Just because people bring it up quite often.”

The governor is faithfully conservative on social and health issues. She previously came under fire in her home state after intervening when her daughter was denied a real estate appraisal license in South Dakota, allegedly pulling strings to get her daughter certified and leading to the forced retirement of the woman overseeing the certification program. Even so, Noem’s scandal may be too localized to dissuade staunchly conservative voters around the nation from supporting a woman seeking to make history in D.C.

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Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders.

Rich Pedroncelli/AP/Shutterstock

Age: 81

Party: Independent

Candidacy: Rumored

As long as Sen. Bernie Sanders is still kicking, a portion of America will continue feeling the Bern. Widely considered a forefather of the modern progressive movement — making room for politicians like Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to continue his legacy with their own unique spins — the octogenarian is, perhaps surprisingly, a fan favorite among young Democratic voters. After placing second to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primary, and second again to Joe Biden in 2020, many believed his time was up. But while he’s promised not to challenge Biden if he seeks another term, Sanders hasn’t ruled out running again in 2024 if the field opens up.

The independent lawmaker served as mayor of Burlington, Vermont, in the ’80s before representing the Green Mountain State first in the House, then in the Senate. Though he is not technically a Democrat, Sanders’ runs for president have been on the Democratic ticket, as third parties are not currently a viable path to the White House.

Sanders, like other self-described “democratic socialists,” is a divisive figure among Democratic voters and the nation at large, with many viewing his affiliation as too extreme to lead the U.S. Boiled down his views are ambitious, but ultimately centered on supporting the working-class — something that a majority of Americans would benefit from.

His biggest hurdle if he were to run, though, may not actually be his political stances but his age. He has proven that he can rally voters, but a year older than President Biden, he’s not the young blood that many in the Democratic Party are hoping for in 2024, and each election that goes by without securing the party’s nomination escalates concerns of his ability to carry out the duties of president for a full four to eight years.

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Elizabeth Warren

Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Drew Angerer/Getty

Age: 73

Party: Democratic

Candidacy: Rumored

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has become a leading political voice on economic and human rights issues, known during her 2020 presidential campaign as the candidate who could explain the root of America’s problems and had detailed plans to fix them.

The former Harvard law professor predicted the financial crash of 2008, and played a role in helping the government navigate it in live time. Perhaps one of the most intelligent Democratic politicians today, Warren seems apt for the role of party leader — but as the nation saw during her 2020 campaign, being labeled as a progressive scared some voters away, ultimately placing her third in the crowded primary pack.

Interestingly, Warren was long viewed as conservative and was registered as a Republican in the ’90s before switching her party affiliation to Democratic. Though she says she didn’t swear by the right’s platform and often voted for Democrats as well, she believed Republicans best supported the markets. She later adjusted that belief and found that she could champion the cause of supporting middle-class Americans and getting the nation out of debt by proposing tax increases on the wealthiest billionaires and keeping corporations in check.

Warren has said that if Biden runs, she will support him for president, adding that she is focused on her Senate reelection and not thinking about the presidency right now. Some speculate that if Biden were to withdraw from the race, though, she may reconsider — and she certainly could build a strong campaign.

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Gretchen Whitmer

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

AP/Shutterstock

Age: 51

Party: Democratic

Candidacy: Rumored

Once on Joe Biden’s shortlist for vice president, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is a proven powerhouse who managed to clinch the state’s top position in 2018, just two years after it swung red in favor of Donald Trump. With her hold on a key swing state, Whitmer could prove invaluable on the Democratic ticket in 2024, particularly since she has experience holding her own against personal attacks by Trump.

Gov. Whitmer spent most of 2022 distracted by her reelection bid, in which she faced (and beat) a deeply conservative Trump-backed candidate. Though Whitmer has not declared an intent to leave Michigan politics, she has repeatedly been identified as someone who could excel in federal government. Her reelection to begin a new term may keep her from looking elsewhere — but at the same time, it reaffirmed her Midwest stronghold, surely heightening external pressures to set her eyes on the White House.

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Glenn Youngkin

Glenn Youngkin.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Age: 56

Party: Republican

Candidacy: Rumored

With a handful of prominent GOP donors uninterested in propping up Trump’s third bid for the White House, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has risen as an alternative option for the establishment to get behind.

The popular governor formerly served as CEO of a private-equity firm, and upon entering politics in January 2022, he immediately dove headfirst into the Republican culture wars, signing a slew of executive actions aimed at divisive topics tied to issues like public school curriculum and COVID-19. Later in his first year, he repealed bipartisan protections for transgender students that had been signed into law by his predecessor.

Youngkin has yet to say whether he’d enter the 2024 presidential race, telling reporters that he’s focused on his current position right now, but experts (and, seemingly, Trump) both consider him a serious contender should he choose to take on the challenge.