Alexandra Hathaway
The 2020 Democratic and Republican National Conventions took place in August. The Democratic National Convention took place on August 17th through the 20th and the Republican National Convention took place on August 24th through the 28th.
The DNC ended with Joe Biden accepting the party’s nomination along with his vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
The RNC concluded with the incumbent President Donald J. Trump accepting the nomination with Vice President Mike Pence.
Democratic National Convention
The DNC stood out this year for being virtual due to COVID-19 concerns.
The platform for the DNC this year had a strong focus on improving life after COVID-19, affordable healthcare, improving the economy, the climate crisis and criminal justice reform.
Speakers included former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama, upcoming presidential candidate Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as well as Joe Biden’s wife Jill Biden.
Speech topics included a rebuke of Donald Trump’s presidency, the importance of voting in the upcoming election and ended with highlighting the nation’s military.
Republican National Convention
The RNC did not have a formal party platform this year but their mission is to re-elect Donald Trump. Keeping this in mind it is worth it to look at their platform from 2016 which focused on rebuilding the economy with an emphasis on small businesses, a constitutional government and preserving family values.
The RNC featured the current president, vice president, Karen Pence, Melania Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump.
Another notable speaker was South Carolina’s Nikki Haley who was the governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017. She resigned as governor after being appointed the United States Ambassador to the United Nations by President Trump.
Topics discussed at the RNC included Trump’s plan to expand school choice, human trafficking, American heroism and reflections on Trump’s past four years as president.
When discussing the DNC and RNC with Winthrop students, issues that were highlighted as important included voting out Trump, racism, inclusive healthcare, climate change and gun control.
Additionally students interviewed highlighted the issues with COVID-19 regarding the changes in education for youth especially disadvantaged youth who rely on school programs such as free lunches.
When talking to Dr. Brandon Ranallo-Benavidez, an assistant professor of political science about the DNC and RNC , he said that the RNC did not release a formal platform this year.
He stated that in recent history he was not aware of anything similar to the RNC’s decision to change their platform to “The Republican party supports the reelection of Donald Trump.”
Additionally, when discussing notable differences from previous elections he noted that this election is unique in that both candidates are on the older side of their 70s.
Regarding the election process, voting by mail or voting early are also creating a unique election landscape that has not been done before. Please make sure to vote.