With the 2024 United States presidential election just weeks away, the nation braces for a high-stakes showdown between the Republican and Democratic nominees.

Running as the Democratic presidential nominee is Vice President Kamala Harris. After receiving a law degree at Hastings College, Harris worked as a deputy district attorney in Oakland. She eventually became the attorney general of California in 2010, followed by her election to the U.S. Senate in 2016. In 2020, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. selected Harris as his running mate, making her the first woman of color to serve as vice president.

Running as the Republican presidential nominee is former President Donald J. Trump. Trump had minimal involvement in government or the military before being elected in 2016, but he was a businessman and former reality TV show host. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Since losing the 2020 election, Trump has been impeached twice and was convicted of 34 felony charges in 2024. However, he argues the jury improperly saw evidence of his official acts as president.

In addition to the two major parties are three independent, third-party candidates: Jill Stein, Chase Oliver and Cornel West.

Voters will face critical decisions on issues including the economy, foreign policy, immigration, and abortion in what promises to be one of the most consequential elections in recent history.

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in September, 81% of registered voters said the economy is the top issue in the 2024 election. However, opinions differ on the best approach for economic growth.

Senior Max Beach said he supports the conservative economic values of trickle-down economics.

“The government should be as laid back and out of it as possible,” Beach said. “Tax rates should be low, and people should have the ability to freely spend their money.”

During President Biden’s term, inflation reached a 40-year high, peaking at 9.1% in June 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As a result, prices for essential goods like groceries, gas and housing have soared, leaving many Americans feeling stretched thin.

Steven Vogel, University of California, Berkeley Chair of Political Economy said the inflation surge was largely a consequence of the economic shutdown during COVID-19.

“If you come out of a pandemic and people have been buying nothing, then suddenly, they can come out of their houses and start buying stuff, prices are gonna boom, right?” Vogel said. “Particularly because you have supply chain bottlenecks again because of the pandemic, so that’s just an act of nature.”

In response to the pandemic, the Trump administration passed the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, and the Biden-Harris administration implemented the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, both aimed at economic relief.

Vogel said he thinks the American Rescue Plan was necessary, even though it contributed to inflation.

“The stimulus package contributed to inflation, that’s true, but I think that was the right thing to do to get us out of the pandemic,” Vogel said.

According to Forbes, Biden has done well on other metrics, adding approximately 11.3 million jobs in his first three years — outpacing the 6.5 million jobs created in the same timeframe under Trump. And according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, inflation is now down to 2.4% as of Oct. 10.

Cynthia Kaui, spokesperson for the California Young Republican Federation said Trump is the only candidate who understands the economic struggles young people face.

“Why do a lot of young Republicans really care (about) Trump and Vance’s platform?” Kaui said. “(Vance) understands not only having to live paycheck to paycheck, but being able to have that extra each month to save and to be able to do a little bit more than just surviving.”

But Vogel said he still thinks Harris’ policies are more promising compared to Trump’s, whose plans center around raising tariffs.

“Harris, I think, is going to continue some of the best (economic) policies of Biden,” Vogel said. “In some areas, she’ll do more – in some areas she’ll do less, but the comparison with Trump is just night and day. You have the worst president ever versus somebody who promises to be an excellent president.”

However, Vogel said it is a common misconception that the economy was better under Trump than under Biden.

“Why do Americans think the Trump economy was better, even though it wasn’t?” Vogel said.  “Probably the number one reason is that with Biden, you got inflation.”

Israel-Hamas

Oct. 7 marked the anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel in 2023. Since then, the United States has given $17.9 billion to Israel in military aid. Recently, under the Biden-Harris administration, the United States gave Israel 30 days to address the aid crisis in Gaza, threatening to slow the supply of weapons.

Although Harris has said Israel has the right to defend itself, she has also pushed for a cease-fire and a two-state solution, emphasizing humanitarianism and the right of self-determination of Palestinians.

Trump has said he supports Israel but also criticized Israel’s handling of the war. He’s also said the war wouldn’t have happened if he were president.

The United States has given $404 million in humanitarian aid to Gaza. However, Palo Alto resident Nicole Sault said she is frustrated with the hypocrisy of leaders who advocate for general welfare while ignoring the devastating impacts in areas like Gaza.

“I’m so tired of politicians saying they support family values, and they bomb families,” Sault said. “I’m so tired of people saying they support health care and education and schools while refugee camps and hospitals are being bombed. What do you say to a Palestinian who’s had 100 family members killed?”

Stanford professor of Middle East history Joel Beinin said the Biden-Harris administration has done a poor job of holding Israel accountable in their military response.

“President Biden jumped to defend Israel after October 7 – which was undoubtedly a horrific terrorist attack on Israel – without understanding what Israel was going to do,” Beinin said. “Anyone who knows anything about Israel would have told you, on the evening of October 7, Israel is gonna unleash a vengeful campaign of annihilation against the Gaza Strip, and that’s what they’ve done.”

Beinin said the United States should have set clear conditions for the use of its funding.

“The United States should and could have said to Israel, ‘This is a horrific attack that you have suffered, and we totally condemn what Hamas did,’” Beinin said. “‘If you target the people who are responsible for this attack and don’t target the entire population of the Gaza Strip, we will give you complete material diplomatic intelligence support. If you go beyond that, you will not have American support.’”

While the United States is financing billions to Israel, Beach said he believes the funding is part of a mutually beneficial exchange, as opposed to a one-sided contribution.

“We have deals with (Israel),” Beach said. “They give us back new technology to develop our stuff … I’m not a fan of just outright funding them and funding weapons for them, because it’s not like they’re at a loss for weapons.”

Beach also said Trump has done an excellent job supporting Israel.

“I think that Trump’s foreign policy is peace by strength,” Beach said. “He made it very clear that we support them, and we support their right to self-determination, nationalistic self-determination and their ability to defend themselves against the terrorist groups which are attacking them.”

Stanford political scientist Didi Kuo said Harris brings a more inclusive approach to foreign policy, particularly regarding the Middle East, by considering diverse perspectives that may not be as readily acknowledged by other leaders.

“Harris is more responsive to the different viewpoints about what’s happening in the broader Middle East,” Kuo said. “She’s at least hearing from a lot of different corners in a way that I’m not sure Trump or his administration is willing to.”

Russia-Ukraine

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022, the war has emerged as a topic between the political parties.

When asked during the September presidential debate whether he would support Ukraine if elected, Trump said he would prioritize using diplomatic strategies to end the war.

“What I’ll do is I’ll speak to one, I’ll speak to the other, I’ll get them together,” Trump said. “That war would have never happened.”

Supporting Ukraine’s defense is a priority for Harris, who has previously said Trump’s disregard for military alliances such as NATO is a threat to world stability.

“It is in the strategic interest of the United States to continue our support (for Ukraine),” Harris said in February 2024. “International rules and norms are on the line, including the fundamental principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Mia McIntyre, a junior at Woodside Priory, said she worries that Trump’s foreign policy decisions could have drastic consequences for the U.S.’s relationships with other countries. According to the New York Times, many European diplomats and foreign policy experts have expressed fear that Trump’s lack of commitment to NATO is enough to severely weaken the alliance that is built on trust.

“Trump has been on record saying that he would threaten to pull out of NATO, which is really undemocratic,” McIntyre said. “Because one big feature of democratic nations is that they have a consistent policy.”

NATO aside, Beach said he sides with Trump on this issue and said he thinks that the United States should have been more involved in peace negotiations.

“It’s not about supporting one country versus another because ultimately, we’re not involved in that war,” Beach said. “We have some influence, of course, but it’s not our war. We shouldn’t be (sending) 200 plus billion dollars to Ukraine.”

Kuo said it’s really important for the United States to support democracies in geographical regions that are historically anti-democratic and anti-American.

“The Ukrainian people are completely innocent,” Kuo said. “They’re only guilty of being a democratic state that exists on the border with Russia.”

Still, Beach said Trump’s claims about his influence in foreign policy is an exaggeration.

“I think that Donald Trump is a bit hyperbolic in some aspects, so I think that you should take a lot of what he says with a grain of salt,” Beach said. “But one of those things is, I do think that he will be able to end the war peacefully. He could end it in 24 hours, but likely not going to happen, it’s going to be more of a slow diplomatic approach.”

Regardless of who people support, Hasanov said, with regard to foreign policy, the most important issue should be the eradication of violence.

“I think it’s better to help the people that are dying instead of feeding money to one side so they keep fighting,” Hasanov said. “I’m not saying cut (both sides) off fully, but I’m pretty sure there’s a way to end it without conflict.”

Immigration has become a central issue in this election, especially holding relevance to California since one in four residents are immigrants, according to the California Department of Justice.

Trump has taken an anti-illegal immigrant approach to handling border policy. In his 2016 campaign, he vowed to use federal funds to build a wall between Mexico and the United States.

A major part of his policy involved separating families during processing at the border in an effort to deter migrants from trying to enter the country.

According to the Washington Post, Harris supports the expansion of legal immigration but has also shown a willingness to be harsh on illegal crossings when they overwhelm border communities.

An attempt at a bipartisan border deal was made by the Biden-Harris administration in February of 2024 when Biden pledged to sign a deal that would provide additional funding and resources to border patrol officers. However, the legislation was stalled after Trump urged House Republicans to vote against it in a political move to have the ability to continue to attack Democrats for their response to the immigration crisis.

Under the Biden-Harris administration, there have been eight million immigrant encounters on the southwest border with Mexico. Under Trump, that number was about 2.4 million.

Kaui said Harris’ proposed policies threaten the safety of border communities and neglect people who have come legally.

“Truth of the matter is, a lot of everyday residents want to feel like they are safe,” Kuai said. “I always worry about what’s going to happen (in southern cities like San Diego) every day, and in the state of California, there seems to be a major shift in prioritization towards people that come here illegally.”

Out of the total $4.9 trillion in government revenue in 2022, undocumented immigrants paid $100 billion in federal taxes in that same year. Amanda Alvarado Ford, deputy attorney of the Immigration Institute of the Bay Area, said there are actually certain industries that are supported by migrants, such as farm workers.

“Over 11 million individuals are living here undocumented, many of whom are contributing members of society, paying taxes, and they will never be able to recover their Social Security earnings,” Alvarado Ford said. “It’s a one-way street for them.”

As the daughter of migrant farm workers from Mexico, Alvarado Ford said this issue is personal. Alvarado Ford said some of the anti-illegal immigrant rhetoric Trump has expressed is dangerous to immigrant communities who are simply trying to live their lives and have a better shot at opportunity.

“If we look back at our nation’s history, unless you’re an indigenous person, then all of (our ancestors) have migrated here,” Alvarado Ford said. “Anytime we have a candidate who divides us according to our ethnicity, our nation of origin, religion or any other characteristic that we cannot change within the span of five minutes, that unfortunately can result in certain individuals becoming empowered to act on their divisive beliefs, including acts of hate and violence.”

But not everyone agrees that the United States should make the path to citizenship more accessible. Beach said he thinks it’s important to take into consideration the effect that immigrants have on American citizens.

“Immigration is a good thing,” Beach said. “I think that we, some might say, are a country of immigrants. I slightly disagree semantically, but I think that we should have immigration, and I think it should be like a door which opens and closes to the extent of how much the economy needs it.”

Alvarado Ford said the slow process of getting through the immigration system and into the country separates families for long periods of time.

“I’m looking for a candidate who can create a more effective and timely immigration system,” Alvarado Ford said. “Right now, we have a system where, for example, if you’re from Mexico applying for entry, and you want to petition your sibling to come to the U.S. right off the bat, you’re looking at 25-28 years of wait, which could extend.”

Alvarado Ford said that compassion should be what prevails in border policies.

“We need to remember that someone helped our immigrant ancestors get their start here in society,” Alvarado Ford said. “Perhaps we, as individuals working in today’s economic marketplace, can offer that hand of support to today’s migrants who desperately need assistance.”

ABORTION

In 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which protected a woman’s right to an abortion prior to fetal viability, medically considered to be between 23 and 24 weeks after Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Consequently, abortion restriction and access is left up to each state.

According to The Washington Post, Harris said she wants to restore Roe v. Wade and federal protections for abortions.

Trump, on the other hand, has said he is opposed to federal protections for abortion, favoring allowing states to decide their own abortion laws. He has taken credit for appointing justices that overturned Roe v. Wade.

Currently, 13 states have a full abortion ban, ten of which have no exceptions for incest and rape. Eight states have a gestational limit ban ranging from 6-18 weeks, which prescribes the time after pregnancy when it’s legal to get an abortion. Five states have a 22-24 week gestational limit, and the remaining 24 states have no limit.

Dr. Cheryl Pan, the chief of ambulatory obstetrics and gynecology at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, said sometimes a six-week gestational limit ban doesn’t provide enough time for women to find out about and address their pregnancy. These restrictions often cause women to look out of state for reproductive care. In 2023, 171,000 women traveled out of state for an abortion.

“We have accepted patients in our (Santa Clara) hospital from states like Texas, for example, where women do not have the rights that they have in the state of California,” Pan said. “They just wanted to have a discussion that they can’t have with their doctors because the laws are written so stringent that if a doctor talks about (abortion) or mentions it, they’re potentially liable to be prosecuted.”

For those without the ability to travel, senior Briar Dorogusker said many will still pursue abortions, but an abortion ban will prevent them from happening in a safe environment.

“I really hope that (Harris) is able to bring (abortion) back to the government nationally and make sure that everyone has access,” Dorogusker said. “It’s going to happen no matter what, so having it protected by law and done safely by medical professionals is really what’s best for the country.”

McIntyre said the freedom to choose whether or not to have an abortion should be a fundamental right of Americans.

“Roe v. Wade and just generally, women’s right to choose – free will – is something that America is very profound on,” McIntyre said. “Being pro-choice, for me, is just allowing women to have control over their lives, especially in healthcare and their bodies.”

With the exception of the mother’s life being at risk, Beach said his belief that humans have equal rights to life in and outside the womb aligns with that of Trump.

“Its logical conclusion would be to outright ban it, other than the exception of the life of a mother because a baby is a human life,” Beach said. “It has its own DNA, its own body. I think that everyone should be able to choose what they do with their body and a baby is its own body. I don’t think that someone has the right to terminate the life of another human being living inside of them who’s done nothing wrong in any situation.”

According to a study from the Kaiser Family Foundation, 61% of voters say the outcome of this election will have a major impact on access to abortion in the country.

According to a study from the Pew Research Center conducted in 2024, 72% of Republicans regard Democrats as more immoral, and 63% of Democrats say the same about Republicans.

Dorogusker said with this kind of polarization, it’s important to keep an open mind when learning about political candidates.

“We’re getting to a point where it’s not even about the policies that candidates have,” Dorogusker said. “It’s just more of an us versus them mentality. I’ve seen so many people online (say) that no matter what, I will vote for Trump or Kamala no matter what.”

McIntyre also said it’s important to find bipartisan policies.

“(We need to) make sure that we’re electing people that are willing to see the nuances in situations, not just voting with a party.” McIntyre said.

Rabbi Yosef Levin said in this election people need to learn how to talk to the other side.

“This is a country that’s built on democracy,” Yosef said. “The polarization that is happening today on all sides is really the biggest problem, and that’s something we have to find a way to solve. True leadership means bringing people together. That’s what we really need to do.”

Note: Pie chart data was collected by a Verde survey with 200 student responses, conducted in history classes during September and October 2024 from each grade level.