Due to the domination of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump in their respective parties' primaries, 2024 looks likely to be the longest presidential campaign ever with the oldest candidates.

Voters are not excited for a 2020 rematch, which will make it even harder to sustain enthusiasm over a longer-than-normal campaign.

The length will also require adjustments in how the campaigns raise and spend money, the Wall Street Journal noted.

Disadvantages and challenges

Biden, who is 81, is at a disadvantage both in coming across as far more frail and old-seeming than Trump and also in having had to deal with a lackluster economy while in office the last three-plus years (although he created it by spending trillions during COVID).

Biden is also behind in many polls, which is really bad for a Democrat candidate at this point in the race. Polls have mostly skewed Democrat, so either Biden is in deep, deep trouble or the polls are getting more accurate than they ever used to be.

Biden is also facing an impeachment inquiry and a lot of evidence that he or his family may have been taking payouts from foreign entities for favorable policies--something that used to be considered treason.

All that doesn't mean Trump doesn't have his own challenges. He's facing four indictments, which have so far galvanized his base because supporters see them as politically motivated and underwhelming in seriousness.

The impact that facing 91 criminal charges will have on independents and Democrats remains to be seen, however. and the longer the campaign goes on, the more likely people are to start seeing all of Trump's legal entanglements as a detriment.

Trump also has a likeability problem because he shoots off his mouth too much. His mean tweets have alienated a number of people who have sworn they will never vote for him--not a good position to be in when you're trying to get elected.

Two incumbents?

This election will be unique because both candidates have been president before. In a sense, both are incumbents, which is usually an advantage.

While Biden is the actual incumbent and has resources at his disposal that Trump does not, Trump does have intimate knowledge of campaigning because he has done it before. In addition, Trump seems to be benefitting from his "outsider" status since people are not happy about how the economy has been lately, not to mention illegal immigration.

The combination of factors and situations will make the election unique and difficult to predict.

And both sides will be doing everything they can to make the outcome more favorable for themselves, even if it's not honest. Count on that.