2024 presidential candidates: Who's running, who's out and who to watch

President Biden

Mr. Biden has said it's his "intention" to run for reelection, and first lady Dr. Jill Biden told The Associated Press that her husband has "not finished what he's started." However, Mr. Biden has yet to make a campaign official. There had been some anticipation an announcement come in January, then in February, and then April this year. But these dates have come and gone and there has still been no announcement.

Based on conversations with at least 10 people close to the process in recent weeks, President Biden is expected to formally launch his campaign by early summer. Some are holding out for late May, others say it will be by mid-June. July is also a possibility, but waiting until the fall would surprise some of those involved in the detailed planning, even as they concede it could happen if world events push off the date even longer.  

Multiple people familiar with the ongoing planning told CBS News that the president is in no hurry to launch his campaign. Early in the year he was occupied by Ukraine, with tensions with China. He's seen no reason recently to jump in and take media attention from leading GOP contenders Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

The April target shifted in part because Mr. Biden saw no need to jump in and distract media attention from the two leading Republican contenders — former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — who continue attacking each other with mixed success. And now, there's the indictment of Trump, which has unclear political and legal implications.

An announcement by Mr. Biden would come as a special counsel is investigating documents marked classified discovered at his former office at a think tank and his residence in Wilmington, Delaware.

Donald Trump

Trump was the first candidate to formally announce a 2024 presidential run, launching his campaign in a November speech from Mar-a-Lago, his South Florida resort. Since then, Trump has spent little time on the campaign trail but ramped up his travel in recent weeks with visits to Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states on the GOP primary calendar. 

Considered to be the frontrunner for the GOP nomination, Trump delivered the keynote address at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on March 4 after winning its straw poll of attendees.

While Trump maintains popularity within the party, his legal troubles loom large over his candidacy. In addition to two Justice Department investigations led by special counsel Jack Smith — one into his handling of documents marked classified discovered at Mar-a-Lago, and the second into efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election — there are ongoing probes from local prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, and the district attorney in Manhattan.

Still, Trump told reporters at CPAC that an indictment would not deter him from seeking the presidency.

"I wouldn't even think about leaving," the former president said when asked whether he would stay in the race if charged. 

Nikki Haley

Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, joined the race for the Republican presidential nomination in mid-February, becoming the first challenger to her former boss. 

In her pitch to voters, Haley, 51, has characterized herself as part of a new generation of Republican leadership and proposed mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over the age of 75 — a subtle jab at Trump, who is 76, and Mr. Biden, who is 80.

The daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley was born in Bamberg, South Carolina, and served two terms as governor. She was the top U.S. diplomat at the United Nations during the Trump administration from January 2017 to December 2018.

Vivek Ramaswamy 

Ramaswamy, a former biotech executive, is considered a longshot for the Republican nomination but is so far only the third Republican to jump into the race.

At 37 years old and with a net worth of roughly $600 million, Ramaswamy has declared himself an "anti-woke" capitalist and decried corporate investment based on environmental, social and governance principles.

Ramaswamy is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, and has ties to Sen. J.D. Vance and major GOP donor Peter Thiel. 

Asa Hutchinson

Hutchinson, the former governor of Arkansas, became the fourth Republican to announce a 2024 presidential bid when he said he was getting in the race on April 2.

Hutchinson, 72, served two terms as governor from 2015 to 2023. A former congressman, he was also one of the House impeachment managers for President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial.

He has said he opposes Trump's third attempt to win the White House, describing a possible Trump 2024 nomination as the "worst scenario."

Marianne Williamson

Williamson is the first Democrat to officially declare her candidacy, jumping into the race despite indications that the president will seek another term.

Her decision to run positions Williamson as the first primary challenger to Mr. Biden, though it's highly unlikely she'll win the Democratic nomination.

Williamson, 70, is an author and spiritual adviser who sought the Democratic nomination in 2020 but failed to gain traction among the crowded field of candidates. After dropping out of the race, she threw her support behind Andrew Yang in the Iowa caucuses. 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist and scion of one of the country's most famous political families, is running for president. He filed a statement of candidacy on Apr. 5 with the Federal Election Commission.

The 69-year-old's campaign to challenge incumbent President Biden for the Democratic nomination is a long shot. 

Kennedy, a nephew of President John F. Kennedy and the son of his slain brother Robert F. Kennedy, was once a bestselling author and environmental lawyer who worked on issues such as clean water.

But more than 15 years ago, he became fixated on a belief that vaccines are not safe and emerged as one of the leading voices in the anti-vaccine movement, and his work has been described by public health experts — and even members of his own family — as misleading and dangerous. His anti-vaccine efforts intensified after the COVID-19 pandemic and development of the COVID-19 vaccine, and during the pandemic, his anti-vaccine charity saw revenues double" to $6.8 million, according to filings made with charity regulators.

Kennedy released a book in 2021, "The Real Anthony Fauci," in which he accused the U.S.'s top infectious disease doctor of assisting in "a historic coup d'etat against Western democracy" and promoted unproven COVID-19 treatments such as ivermectin, which is meant to treat parasites, and the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine.

Ron DeSantis

Though he hasn't formally announced a presidential campaign, Florida's governor is considered the chief rival to Trump. DeSantis is in his second term as governor, and during his time in Tallahassee he has gained national recognition for his COVID-19 policies and embrace of the culture wars.

DeSantis has also leaned into education issues, reshaping Florida's public education policies and engaging in local school board races during the 2022 election cycle. His efforts as governor have won him popularity with Republican voters, and though he hasn't launched a campaign, DeSantis is set to make stops in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, another early voting state, to promote his new book.

DeSantis skipped CPAC this year and instead addressed donors at a retreat hosted by the conservative Club for Growth.

Mike Pence

The former vice president and Indiana governor has signaled he is exploring a presidential bid and said he intends to make a decision on his political future by the spring. Pence, though, has suggested he believes the GOP should move on from Trump.

"I think we're going to have new leadership in this party and in this country," he told CBS News in January.

Pence also has declined to commit to supporting Trump if he is the Republican nominee, instead saying that he believes GOP voters will choose "wisely again" in 2024 and thinks "different times call for different leadership."

While Pence has promoted the policies of the Trump administration, he has also criticized the former president for his actions on Jan. 6, saying in November that Trump's words were "reckless" and put him and his family, who were on Capitol Hill that day for the joint session of Congress, in danger.

Mike Pompeo

Pompeo served as director of the CIA and secretary of state during Trump's one term and as with Pence, Pompeo said he plans to make a decision about whether he'll run for president by the spring.

During an interview with "CBS Mornings" in January, Pompeo said Trump's decision to run for president a third time is not affecting his own move. 

Pompeo released a book in January detailing his tenure in the Trump administration, in which he takes aim at Haley and claims she tried to replace Pence as vice president. But Haley refuted his allegations, telling Fox News that they're "lies and gossip to sell a book."

Tim Scott

Scott, of South Carolina, is the only Black Republican senator, and a trip to Iowa in February stirred speculation that he is considering a White House run.

Adding to the buzz about Scott's political ambitions is his recent hiring of former GOP Sen. Cory Gardner and a longtime GOP operative to lead his super PAC Opportunity Matters, according to Axios.

He also embarked on a listening tour of his home state of South Carolina, another early primary state, in February.

Chris Sununu

Sununu, the governor of New Hampshire, has not held back in criticizing Trump and provided a preview of his pitch to voters during an interview with "Face the Nation" last month, during which he promoted a "New Hampshire model" of leadership.

Sununu said the American people are "tired of extreme candidates" and partisan gridlock.

In 2021, Sununu decided to forgo a run for the Senate to challenge first-term Democrat Maggie Hassan and opted instead to seek a fourth term as governor, which he won in November. 

Larry Hogan

The former Maryland governor announced Sunday that he would not seek the Republican nomination for president after giving it "serious consideration."

Hogan said his decision not to pursue the presidency may make it more difficult for Trump to claim the nomination.