It feels like a lifetime ago that the 2024 campaign season kicked off, doesn’t it? Honestly, by the time we all got to the voting booths in November, the field had narrowed down quite a bit from the dozens of hopefuls who started out. But if you looked closely at your ballot, you probably noticed names that didn't get nearly as much airtime as the big two.
When people ask who all is running for president 2024, they’re usually looking for the major party heavyweights. But the reality of American politics is that there’s a whole ecosystem of third-party and independent candidates who fight tooth and nail just to get their names printed on that paper.
The Headliners: Trump vs. Harris
The main event was, of course, the showdown between the Republican and Democratic tickets. It’s pretty wild how much the Democratic side shifted mid-stream. We started with Joe Biden as the presumptive nominee, but after a rough debate in June, he stepped aside. Suddenly, Kamala Harris was the one leading the charge with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. They focused heavily on protecting reproductive rights and maintaining the economic status quo.
On the other side, Donald Trump secured the Republican nomination for the third time in a row. He picked JD Vance, the Senator from Ohio, to be his Vice Presidential pick. Their "Make America Great Again" platform leaned into immigration reform and tariffs. Trump’s path was anything but quiet, especially after surviving an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania just before the Republican National Convention.
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The Third-Party Contenders Who Made the Cut
Beyond the red and blue, a few other names actually managed to get significant ballot access across the country.
Jill Stein was back again for the Green Party. She’s a familiar face for anyone who follows third-party politics, and this time she ran with Butch Ware. Her campaign basically lived on the idea that neither of the two major parties was doing enough about climate change or the conflict in Gaza. She ended up pulling about 0.6% of the popular vote, which sounds small but can be a huge deal in tight swing states.
Then you had Chase Oliver representing the Libertarian Party. He’s a younger guy from Georgia who described himself as "armed and gay," which isn't exactly your grandfather's Libertarian profile. He and his running mate Mike ter Maat pushed for massive cuts to government spending and a non-interventionist foreign policy.
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The Independent Wildcard: RFK Jr.
You can't talk about who all is running for president 2024 without mentioning Robert F. Kennedy Jr. For a while, he was the biggest "spoiler" threat in decades. He originally tried to run as a Democrat, then went independent, and eventually suspended his campaign to endorse Trump.
Despite "dropping out," his name still appeared on the ballot in a ton of states because it was too late to remove it. He actually pulled in over 700,000 votes nationally, even while telling people not to vote for him in swing states. It was a bizarre situation that really showed how messy ballot laws can get.
The Longshots and Niche Parties
If you live in a state like Colorado or Vermont, your ballot probably looked like a CVS receipt. There are several minor parties that consistently run candidates.
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- Cornel West: The famous philosopher ran as an independent with Melina Abdullah. He focused on "truth, justice, and love," targeting voters who felt the Democrats had moved too far to the center.
- Claudia De la Cruz: She ran for the Party for Socialism and Liberation. She actually had one of the strongest showings for an explicitly socialist candidate in decades.
- Peter Sonski: He represented the American Solidarity Party, which is a unique group that combines socially conservative views with economically progressive ones.
- Randall Terry: Running for the Constitution Party, he focused almost exclusively on a staunch anti-abortion platform.
Why Does the Full List Matter?
Most of these candidates never had a shot at the White House. That's just the math of the Electoral College. However, they serve as a pressure valve for voters who are frustrated with the two-party system. When you look at who all is running for president 2024, you see a map of American discontent.
In some states, the margin between Trump and Harris was smaller than the number of votes Jill Stein or Chase Oliver received. That’s why the major parties spend so much money trying to keep these "minor" candidates off the ballot in places like Pennsylvania or Wisconsin.
Actionable Next Steps for Curious Voters
If you want to dig deeper into how these candidates actually performed or how the 2024 field affects future elections, here is what you should do:
- Check your official state results: Go to your Secretary of State’s website. You can see exactly how many people in your specific county voted for the smaller parties.
- Look into ballot access laws: If you’re annoyed that your favorite candidate wasn't an option, look up your state's "signature requirements." It’s often the reason why the list of who all is running for president 2024 varies so much from state to state.
- Monitor the "Federal Election Commission" (FEC) filings: You can see who actually funded these smaller campaigns. Sometimes, you'll find that wealthy donors from the opposite major party were the ones cutting the checks to help a third party "spoil" the race.
The 2024 race was a circus at times, but the sheer variety of people on the ballot is a testament to how many different visions for the country actually exist out there.