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In an election year with many unknowns, one thing is clear: Americans are very close to a repeat of the 2020 presidential election race, when the candidates of both major parties were President Joe Biden and his main Republican rival, Donald Trump.
VOA Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara explains the reasons why Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump continue to be the candidates of the two major parties.
Americans are facing a repeat of the 2020 presidential election.
Polls show a lack of support for both candidates, while Mr. Trump also faces numerous legal problems. Both are seen as elderly, although polls show more Americans worry about President Biden, who will be 82 on Election Day, than Mr Trump, who will be 78.
"Mr. Trump is the champion of complaints, he has created a strong connection with his base of supporters in this form. When it comes to Mr. Biden, he is the only candidate that Democrats believe can beat Trump," says Clifford Young, President of Ipsos Public Affairs, an American polling organization.
Both candidates benefit from a political system that favors incumbents and have great influence within their parties.
Mr. Biden won the New Hampshire primary even though his name was not on the ballot.
Mr. Trump benefits from a process within the party that attracts more ideologically ardent voters, which translates into overwhelming support for him.
"In the general election and in the Republican Party in general, Mr. Trump does not have as much support as the primary voter base gives the impression, but the system within the Republican Party will almost certainly lead to his nomination," he said. Thomas Schwartz, who deals with the history of presidents and is a lecturer at Vanderbilt University.
Mr. Biden's loyal supporters see him as a successful president, securing legislative victories and leading the West's response to Russia's aggression in Ukraine as well as leading an economy where fears of a recession have eased.
"What I'm hearing inside the party is that we're going to continue the race with Biden," says Corryn Grace Freeman, a Democratic Party strategist who, however, admits that Democrats on the left are angry with President Biden for not fully suspending student debt. to universities as well as to his war policy Israel Hamas.
"There are a lot of people who can't support this president but who also don't like Donald Trump but who also feel like the Democratic Party is constantly letting them down."
Former President Trump and Mr. Biden also benefit from a system within the party where the announcement of candidacy is essentially time-locked, due to the rules of various states.
"Party primary election dates have now shifted to the point where most of them will be held before March 5," says Geoffrey Cowan, a professor at the University of Southern California.
That means even though the election is still eight months away, it will be very difficult for a candidate to launch a campaign against Mr. Biden or former President Trump.
Therefore, unless one of them withdraws himself and the party tries to name a replacement during the convention, the Americans are more or less left with these two candidates./VOA
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