Joe Biden, Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis. That sure doesn’t sound like a diverse selection of presidential candidates: three white men who have all been active in politics.
All three have garnered the most media attention around the 2024 election, and they’ve performed consistently at the top of national polls collected by RealClear Politics. So, yes, that doesn’t bode well for the baker’s dozen of other declared Democratic and Republican candidates.
Still, should a voter want a more diverse choice, the candidates are there – including a few who are already on the stage for the first Republican debate Aug. 23 in Milwaukee.
When is the first 2023 Republican debateDate, start time, participants in primary event
To be sure, this group of candidates doesn’t come close to the gender diversity of the 2020 election’s candidates. But what the field lacks in women (only two), it brims with generations, cultural backgrounds and career experiences.
How old are the 2024 presidential candidates?
Two generations separate the youngest candidate (Vivek Ramaswamy) and oldest candidates (Biden and Trump). The four-decade gap is a bit wider than the 2020 election’s gap between Biden and current Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
How ethnically diverse are the candidates?
The Republican and Democratic candidates comprise one of the most diverse presidential fields, but it still falls short of fully representing the country’s Hispanic population. Of those 16 contenders, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is the only Hispanic candidate. About one-fifth of the country identifies as Hispanic or Latino.
The Republican field is almost evenly split between candidates of color and white candidates, while the Democratic field might have been more robust and diverse had Biden not been running for a second term.
Career paths of the presidential candidates
The majority of candidates have long political backgrounds, but even among Biden, Trump and DeSantis their paths are varied:
- Biden has served in elected offices in Washington, D.C., for more than 50 years.
- Trump developed and managed a large real estate portfolio and hosted a reality TV show before his presidency.
- DeSantis was a federal prosecutor and won a seat in the U.S. House before winning the Florida governorship.
How the other candidates’ backgrounds differ:
