The 2024 presidential election is less than four calendar months away from occurring. On July 21st, political shockwaves were sent through the nation figuratively speaking when the incumbent 46th president Joe Biden announced he would be suspending his re-election campaign. Biden has faced strong political headwinds in the weeks after his disastrous debate performance against the Republican nominee Donald Trump. On the stage on June 27th, Biden struggled to answer questions and appeared lost. Following this, Democratic politicians and media pundits ramped up calls for Biden to step aside. Biden was initially adamant about remaining in the race, but succumbed to the pressure in late July. Biden quickly endorsed his Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor. Harris has raised tens of millions of dollars in the days after the announcement and reportedly already has the support of more than half the delegates required to clinch the nomination.
The Republican party held its national convention last week, and Donald Trump was confirmed as the party nominee. The party was energized, and people generally appeared enthusiastic and unified around the former 45th president. Trump survived a near-death experience on July 13th when he was almost assassinated by a 20 year old gunman in Butler, Pennsylvania. Following this incident, Trump took a calmer, less rambunctious tone. While he gave a lengthy speech at the RNC, he called for unity.
Some independent voters have begun to warm up to Trump following the attempted assassination. One Fox news digital contributor wrote an opinion article which highlighted individuals’ recent lukewarm shifts in favorable opinion towards the former president. One man and woman in a local bar in Milwaukee were spotted discussing the recent convention, and both said they were “coming around” to Trump. The woman cited the assassination attempt as a cause. The man stated while he had not voted for Trump in 2016 or 2020, he was now open to supporting him in 2024.
