The US presidential election is now just one year away.
A lot can change before then, of course, but President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, look set for a rematch.
We asked US voters what has changed for them since the tumultuous 2020 election – and what will determine who they vote for in 2024.
Sandra’s key issues are reproductive rights and gun control. She is worried by the prospect of Trump returning to the White House.
So, 2020 versus 2024 – everything has changed but it’s still all the same.
In 2020 the choice was very apparent. We had all just lived through four years of fear and chaos – how horribly the pandemic was handled, the fealty shown to authoritarian governments, the rise of hate crimes.
In 2023 we’ve now had several years of good policy and progressive legislation. There has been an incredible amount of good things happening but most people almost never hear about any of it. I will vote for Biden – he’s done a fantastic job with the hand he’s been dealt.
Rom voted for Donald Trump twice and wants him to win again – but he would back another outsider to shake up the establishment.
This election will be different in that both Trump and Biden will have performance records as presidents so the voters will be able to decide whose record was better.
I think the state of the US economy and the general confidence in the US are on far shakier ground this time. Joe Biden and his administration have turned out to be far worse – more incompetent – than I expected them to be.
I accepted his election and, despite having huge reservations about him, I tried to view him as the healer he claimed he would be – a transitory figure that would stabilise the chaotic environment of 2020. However, he has failed on all fronts as far as I’m concerned.
My first candidate of choice remains Donald Trump. However, should he be side-lined by the politicised legal process he is facing, or because of some other factor, my second choice would be Robert Kennedy Jr. I believe both are the only true populist candidates.
Alex is a moderate conservative who likes some of the Republican candidates challenging Trump.
There isn’t that anger and division, at least for me, that I saw in 2020, where we’d had these crazy four years with Trump. And it was so black and white: are we going to do Trump again or are we going to do the exact opposite?
As a country coming out of Trump, we needed somebody that would just kind of be in the background. I never would have expected that I’d be leaning Democrat. I was raised Republican, all my friends are Republican. But, as of right now, I’m pleased with how the last three years have been.
But I’d be worried if Joe Biden gets re-elected. His age comes in as a factor – and if something happens to him in office then it’s Kamala Harris. There are some good Republican candidates in the nomination race – I like what Nikki Haley has been saying – but if it is Trump, I’ll vote Democrat.
Isaiah backs Biden’s liberal policies and is concerned about a second Trump presidency.
I’m somewhat pleasantly surprised by Biden – though he’s still not ideal. I have issues with the fact that he’s, I think, too old to be in public office, and that goes for Trump, too.
I remain steadfastly progressive and diametrically opposed to Trump, and I don’t see any scenario in which he is not the Republican nominee. So fundamentally it’s not going to be that different to 2020.
Covid dominated the last election. This time, there’s going to be a lot of focus on reproductive rights as well as LGBT issues and education so I think the specific culture-war issues might change a little bit.
Mike voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020, but would prefer Florida Governor Ron DeSantis gets the Republican nomination this time.
Trump’s not my first choice, like he was in 2020. I just think that there are better candidates out there for the Republicans. And with some of Trump’s allies pleading guilty in the 2020 election interference case, I’m just not sure what to think about that.
I think that that people are going to be more riled up, especially on the Republican side because we’ve seen how much Biden’s policies have negatively impacted the economy and security. Inflation has gone up, gas prices have gone up. The immigration problem down south is an even bigger problem than it was when Trump was in office.
There was a record amount of people who voted back in 2020 and I think that’s going to be the case again in 2024. Although I know the Democratic side are not real excited about Biden.
Nuha Nazy will vote for Biden even though she is displeased with what she describes as his “lack of empathy” for Palestinians in Gaza.
Trump threatening to come back has made me more committed to the Democratic Party, in spite of the anti-free speech approach the Democrats are taking towards Palestinian voices, like mine. It’s easy for me to condemn the brutality of Hamas, but is a second Nakba [the word Palestinians use to refer to the anniversary of Israel’s independence in 1948, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled their homes or were displaced] really the answer?
Right now I don’t feel there’s an alternative that won’t make Trump the next president. And Trump will be worse on every issue I care about: abortion rights, resolving the Palestinian situation justly, LGBT rights, and gun control, in that order.
This election feels more existential. The rights issues are getting a lot more personal and affecting every day life, down to what books are in the library.
Kathleen voted for Donald Trump twice, but says she has “never really felt like a Republican”. She votes for anti-abortion candidates.
Global war is something on everyone’s mind today, much more than in 2020. No one can know for sure, but my guess is that wars in the Ukraine and Israel would have been much less likely under a Trump administration.
Whether or not one supports or admires Mr Trump, I think most of us understand that he knew how to deal with difficult personalities through his business dealings. He approached world leaders in the same fashion. In contrast, President Biden gives an impression of weakness.
If Mr Trump is nominated, I’ll vote for him, of course, but I really wish we’d allow some younger candidates to have a chance.
And I’m truly sick of the political drama and division. I think 2024 has the potential for even more contention than 2020 unfortunately – especially with the state of the world right now.
As a liberal, Austin says foreign policy and climate change are important to him.
I plan to again vote for Joe Biden and the Democratic Party. Biden’s age has become a bit of a worry, but it’s not something that would prevent me from voting for him in a general election.
With the outbreak of wars in Ukraine last year and the Middle East last month, it’s important to have a coherent policy agenda that supports allies, deters aggression, and supports national and regional interests. I think the Democrats are much better prepared to offer that than the Republicans.
In many ways, this election is the same fight as 2020 but with higher stakes.
