Candidates for President 2024: odds on Democratic and Republican candidates - including Nikki Haley

Donald Trump has celebrated one-time Republican rival Ron DeSantis as his newest supporter after the Florida governor ended his presidential campaign and endorsed the former president.

For Trump, it has become a familiar ritual to welcome the backing of someone who once tried to take him on.

Nonetheless, it was notable at Sunday’s (21 January) rally in New Hampshire to see Trump praise Mr DeSantis without calling him “DeSantimonious” or “DeSanctus”, putting an end to perhaps the most bitter rivalry of Republicans’ 2024 campaign.

“I just want to thank Ron and congratulate him on doing a very good job,” Trump said at the outset of his remarks. “He was very gracious, and he endorsed me. I appreciate that, and I also look forward to working with Ron.”

But Trump has not quite secured the nomination yet, and a field of two other Republican hopefuls are seeking to cinch the presidency for themselves. But just exactly who are they, how likely are they to knock Trump from the top spot, and who's in the running on the Democrat side?

Here is everything you need to know.

Which Republicans are running for President in 2024?

Nikki Haley (12/1): The former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina governor became the first major Republican challenger to Donald Trump when she kicked off her campaign on 15 February in Charleston. She is the only woman in the Republican field.

The former Trump cabinet official once said she would not challenge her former boss for the White House in 2024. But she changed her mind, citing the country’s economic troubles and the need for “generational change”, a nod to 77-year-old Trump’s age.

Asa Hutchinson: The former two-term Arkansas governor launched his presidential campaign on 26 April in Bentonville, pledging to “bring out the best of America” and to reform federal law enforcement agencies.

He announced his campaign shortly after Trump was indicted by a grand jury in New York and has called for the former president to drop out of the race, saying: “The office is more important than any individual person.”

Which Democrats are running for President in 2024?

Joe Biden (1/3): Though he is the sitting US President, Joe Biden is not automatically granted the Democratic nomination for the 2024 race, and a notable swathe of Democratic voters have indicated they would prefer him not to run.

Despite this, he is expected to easily win the Democratic nomination, and formally announced his re-election campaign on 25 April in a video asking voters for time to “finish this job”.

Biden, the oldest president in American history, would be 86 at the end of a second term, and his age has prompted some of his critics to question whether he can serve effectively.

Biden, who has vowed to “restore the soul of America”, plans to run on his record - he spent his first two years as president combating the coronavirus pandemic and pushing through major Bills such as the bipartisan infrastructure package and legislation to promote high-tech manufacturing and climate measures.

Marianne Williamson: Self-help author Marianne Williamson entered the Democratic primary on 4 March in Washington, calling for “a vision of justice and love that is so powerful that it will override the forces of hatred and injustice and fear”.

During her unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign, she proposed the creation of a Department of Peace and argued that the federal government should pay large financial reparations to black Americans as atonement for centuries of slavery and discrimination.

Dean Phillips (18/1): The Minnesota congressman is the first elected Democrat to challenge Biden for the nomination. After months of calling for a primary challenger, Phillips entered the race himself on 27 October 27 with a speech outside New Hampshire’s statehouse.

While he has been effusive in his praise for Biden, the 54-year-old also says Democrats need younger voices to avoid a nightmare scenario where Trump wins another election next autumn.

Phillips is one of the wealthiest members of Congress and heir to his stepfather’s Phillips Distilling Company empire, which holds major vodka and schnapps brands. He once served as the company’s president but also ran gelato maker Talenti.

Who else is running?

Alongside the Democrat and Republican hopefuls, there are a number of independent candidates running without the backing of the two major parties.

Robert F Kennedy Jr: The best-selling author and environmental lawyer announced on 9 October that he was ending his Democratic presidential bid and instead launching an independent run.

A nephew of President John F Kennedy and son of Attorney General Robert F Kennedy, he initially launched a long-shot bid to challenge Biden for the Democratic nomination on 19 April in Boston.

He said in announcing his party switch that he intended to be a spoiler candidate for both Biden and Trump.

Kennedy has emerged as one of the leading voices of the anti-vaccine movement, with public health experts and even members of his own family describing his work as misleading and dangerous. He has also been linked to far-right figures in recent years.

Jill Stein: The environmental activist, whose 2016 third-party presidential bid was blamed by Democrats for helping Trump win the White House, says she is making another run for the nation’s highest office.

Stein announced on 9 November that she will again run under the Green Party banner. She ran against Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 as a Green Party candidate and received about 1% of the vote.

Some Democrats said her candidacy syphoned votes away from Clinton, particularly in swing states like Wisconsin.

“I’m running for president to offer that choice for the people outside of the failed two-party system,” she said.

Cornel West: The progressive activist and scholar announced on 5 October that he was ending his bid for the presidency under the Green Party banner and was instead running as an independent.

He wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that he was running as an independent to “end the iron grip of the ruling class and ensure true democracy! We need to break the grip of the duopoly and give power to the people.”

He initially announced in June that he would be running as a member of The People’s Party before soon switching to the Green Party.