FACTBOX-Who are the candidates running in the 2024 US presidential election?

REPUBLICAN PARTY DONALD TRUMP Trump, 77, has embraced his indictments in four separate state or federal criminal cases - unprecedented for a former American president - which have boosted his popularity among Republicans, and helped make him the frontrunner in his party's race for the presidential nomination. Trump has called the indictments part of a politically motivated witch hunt to thwart his pursuit of a second four-year term, an assertion that the Justice Department has denied.

Seven Republican candidates are jostling to be their party's presidential nominee for the 2024 general election, while President Joe Biden is the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee, and several third-party hopefuls have joined the fray.

Here is a list of the candidates. REPUBLICAN PARTY

DONALD TRUMP Trump, 77, has embraced his indictments in four separate state or federal criminal cases - unprecedented for a former American president - which have boosted his popularity among Republicans, and helped make him the frontrunner in his party's race for the presidential nomination.

Trump has called the indictments part of a politically motivated witch hunt to thwart his pursuit of a second four-year term, an assertion that the Justice Department has denied. In a sign of his extraordinary hold on his party, just two rivals at the first Republican presidential debate on Aug. 23 said they would not support him as the nominee if he were convicted. Trump has vowed to enact tougher immigration restrictions and harsher curbs on trade with China and to carry out political reprisals against those he perceives to have wronged him. He has a firm grip on his party's right wing, but may struggle to get moderates and independents to support him in a general election should he win the Republican nomination.

His support stands at 51% among Republicans, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted from Sept. 8 through Sept. 14, giving him a commanding lead over his rivals. RON DESANTIS After a glitch-filled campaign launch in May on Twitter, now called X, DeSantis has positioned himself to the right of Trump on a number of key social issues such as abortion. But his well-funded campaign has struggled to gain traction, and his top donor has said he won't give the Florida governor more money unless DeSantis adopts a more moderate approach. DeSantis, 45, is Trump's top rival, but remains around 40 percentage points behind the former president in Reuters/Ipsos opinion polls. He has fired staff and rebooted his campaign several times since May, but those steps have done little to boost his candidacy. DeSantis' campaign says it is focused on stopping Trump in Iowa, where the party will hold its first nominating contest in January. He got a much-needed boost when the Midwestern state's popular Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, endorsed him.

NIKKI HALEY A former South Carolina governor and Trump's ambassador to the United Nations, Haley, 51, has emphasized her relative youth compared to Biden and Trump, as well as her background as the daughter of Indian immigrants. Haley has gained more attention from donors and voters after strong performances at Republican debates and has overtaken DeSantis in polling in several key nominating states. She has pitched herself as a stalwart defender of American interests abroad and is a staunch supporter of continued U.S. support for Ukraine and Israel. She has low single-digit support among Republicans, according to opinion polls. VIVEK RAMASWAMY A former biotechnology investor and executive, Ramaswamy, 38, started a company in 2022 to pressure firms to abandon environmental, social, and corporate governance initiatives. The pugnacious entrepreneur, who delights in making provocative statements and needling his rivals, has stoked grassroots chatter as a potential alternative to Trump, but has failed to grow his base of support.

Ramaswamy is a fervent supporter of the former president and says that if he won the White House, he would pardon Trump. CHRIS CHRISTIE

Christie, 61, advised Trump's White House campaign, but became a vocal critic of the former president after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. The former New Jersey governor and federal prosecutor stepped up his verbal attacks as Trump faced a growing number of criminal charges. Christie has received about 2% support among Republicans in a Reuters/Ipsos conducted from Sept. 8 through Sept. 14. ASA HUTCHINSON

The former Arkansas governor launched his bid for the White House in April with a call for Trump to step aside to deal with the former president's first indictment. Hutchinson, 72, has touted his experience leading his deeply conservative state as proof he can deliver on policies Republican voters care about, citing tax cuts and job creation initiatives. Still, his name recognition remains limited outside Arkansas, and he received 0% support among Republicans in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll.

DOUG BURGUM Burgum, 67, is serving his second four-year term as North Dakota's governor after selling his software business to Microsoft in 2001. A proponent of low taxes and fewer regulations, he has sought to portray himself as a traditional conservative with a focus on the economy and national security. One of the least-known contenders, he received 0% in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll.

DEMOCRATIC PARTY JOE BIDEN Biden, 81, already the oldest U.S. president ever, will have to convince voters he has the stamina for another four years in office, amid concerns about his age and poor approval ratings. Biden allies say he believes he is the only Democratic candidate who can defeat Trump. In announcing his candidacy, Biden declared it was his job to defend American democracy, and referred to the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters. Vice President Kamala Harris, 59, is again his running mate. The economy will factor in his reelection campaign. While the U.S. escaped an expected recession and is growing faster than economists expected, inflation hit 40-year highs in 2022 and the cost of food and gas is weighing on voters. Biden has led the response of Western governments to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, persuading allies to sanction Russia and support Kyiv. He now faces the challenge of getting additional funds approved by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

His administration has strongly backed Israel in its conflict with Hamas militants in Gaza, but Biden has faced hecklers at events and calls from some within his party to push for a ceasefire. At home, he has pushed through massive economic stimulus and infrastructure spending packages to boost U.S. industrial output, although he has received little recognition from voters for the latter. Biden's handling of immigration policy has been criticized by Republicans and Democrats as migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border hit record highs during his administration.

MARIANNE WILLIAMSON The best-selling author and self-help guru Marianne Williamson, 71, has launched her second, long-shot bid for the White House on a platform of "justice and love." She ran as a Democrat in the 2020 presidential primary but dropped out of the race before any votes had been cast. She launched her latest campaign on March 23 and will be on the ballot in the New Hampshire primary. DEAN PHILLIPS

Dean Phillips, a little-known U.S. congressman from Minnesota, announced in October he would mount a challenge to Biden because he does not believe the president can win another term. The 54-year-old millionaire businessman and gelato company co-founder announced his bid in a one-minute video posted online, saying: "We've got some challenges ... We're going to repair this economy, and we are going to repair America." INDEPENDENTS

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR An anti-vaccine activist, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 69, is running as an independent after initially challenging Biden for the Democratic nomination, but he is far behind in opinion polls. He is the son of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968 during his own presidential bid. Kennedy was banned from Instagram for spreading misinformation about vaccines and the COVID-19 pandemic but was later reinstated. He lost a legal bid to force YouTube owner Google to reinstate videos of him questioning the safety of COVID vaccines. CORNEL WEST

The political activist, philosopher and academic said in June he would launch a third-party bid for president that is likely to appeal to progressive, Democratic-leaning voters. West, 70, initially ran as a Green Party candidate, but in October he said people "want good policies over partisan politics" and announced his bid as an independent. He has promised to end poverty and guarantee housing.

JILL STEIN Jill Stein, a physician, re-upped her 2016 Green Party bid on Nov. 9, accusing Democrats of betraying their promises "for working people, youth and the climate again and again - while Republicans don't even make such promises in the first place." Stein, 73, raised millions of dollars for recounts after Trump's surprise 2016 victory. Her allegations yielded only one electoral review in Wisconsin, which showed Trump had won.

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