The 2020 presidential election is quickly approaching, and you can find all of your election news here. Republican nominee President Donald Trump is hoping for a second term in the Oval Office. Democratic nominee Joe Biden is looking to become the 46th president of the United States after decades of working in the government. To many, this election is a defining moment in the country’s history. A global pandemic, protests for racial justice, and the effects of global warming are only some of the factors that have led the country to this moment of deep political divide. Nov. 3 is approaching, and the race is not slowing down.

Republican Nominee: President Donald J. Trump  

From real-estate mogul, to reality TV star, to the President of the United States; it is unheard of, yet it has been a reality for the past four years. Trump and his “Make America Great Again” campaign are up for re-election, and the conservative campaign wants another four years in the Oval Office. President Trump is 74, and in 2016, he was elected as the 45th President of the United States. He is the only president to step into office without any previous government or military experience. His initial campaign called to end political correctness, block illegal immigration, and stop government lobbyists. President Trump campaigned in support of tax cuts and the creation of jobs. He has spent the past four years working to build a wall that stands between the United States and Mexico. President Trump has had a large focus on foreign policy; he has created many relationships overseas. Most recently, he formed a peace treaty with Israel and the United Arab Emirates. The agreement, signed on Aug. 13, “normalized relations between the two Middle Eastern countries,” according to the New York Post (nypost.com), although not everyone agrees on the effectiveness of the treaty. Despite the actions that some view as successes, President Trump, commonly criticized for being outspoken on Twitter, has been involved in many scandals. In 2016, right after he was elected, he was accused of having Russian hackers send out advertisements that promoted his campaign. Additionally, he was impeached in Dec. 2019 on the charges of abuse of power and obstruction of justice. Many are also critical of the fact that in the past six months, under his leadership, the United States has had the highest number of deaths from and cases of coronavirus as compared with any other nation. Others believe that the economy has thrived under him, as he created 6.6 million jobs in his first three years as president. President Trump and his campaign are determined to stay in office for another four years, and they hope to restore America to what it was before the pandemic. 

Democratic Nominee: Vice President Joe Biden 

To many, Vice President Biden’s race to become the president of the United States is long overdue. Biden was first elected to the United States Senate in 1972 and has been serving the country ever since. Biden was in the senate for six terms and was the Vice President of the United States under President Barack Obama. Biden is 77 and, if elected, he will be the oldest person to be elected president of the United States. In 2017, he and his wife began the Biden Foundation, which focuses on foreign policy, Biden’s cancer initiative, community colleges and military families, protecting children, equality, ending violence against women, and strengthening the middle class. However, in his 47-year-long political career, there have been many criticisms of Biden. A major source of criticism in his career was the 1994 crime bill he passed as a senator. Following the institution of this “tough on crime” bill, incarceration rates increasingly rose in the United States. Additionally, people have claimed that he is “behind the times,” citing that he voted for the Iraq war. On Aug. 11, Biden chose senator Kamala Harris as his running mate. If elected, the former California attorney general will be the first African and Asian American woman to be vice president of the United States. Biden formally clinched the nomination on June 5, and has been endorsed by Bernie Sanders, Barack Obama, Elizabeth Warren, and many more. As the race to the finish intensifies, America is left to wonder: will Joe Biden become the 46th President of the United States after decades of serving in the government?