The events leading up to the 2016 United States presidential election have only proven this will be a race to remember, as controversy has been central in the race thus far.
The two front-runners appear to be Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party and Donald Trump for the Republican Party. Clinton recently won the Nevada Democratic caucus and Trump won the South Carolina Republican primary.
In addition, Jeb Bush decided to drop out of Republican race after coming in fourth place in the South Carolina vote, which was dominated by Trump.
Tom Lingren, a junior economics major, believes there are many factors that led up to the end of Bush’s campaign.
“I’m really not surprised Bush dropped out because it was clear that the American people didn’t trust him and his vision for the country going forward,” Lingren said. “Bush could’ve been successful if his name wasn’t tied to the Bush family name, which is something many voters couldn’t get over. There are many reasons why his campaign failed him, but one can point to his poor performance in the debates and his family roots.”
A lot has happened in the recent primaries, and they are revealing which candidates are the strongest contenders for each party’s nomination.
It was disappointing to hear about Bernie Sanders’ performance in the Nevada caucus. He is more popular among young voters than Clinton, but if the majority of millennials fail to vote, he does not stand a chance against Clinton.
Sanders won more of the Hispanic vote than expected, but Clinton secured a large percentage of black voters. This proves that Clinton’s ties to the Obama administration are an enormous advantage among Democrats because countless black voters have made the smooth transition from supporting President Obama to siding with Clinton. It is amazing to see how gaining or failing to gain the support of various minority groups can make or break your campaign.
Trump’s success, on the other hand, is more astonishing because it still shocks me to hear about his strong performance in the primaries, considering his appalling discrimination and prejudice against Muslims, Mexicans and women.
Reanna Dixon, a freshman psychology major, was not pleased to hear that Trump recently won the South Carolina primary.
“I’m not happy about Trump’s success in the primaries,” Dixon said. “I’m very confused about how he’s gotten this far because most people are bashing him, but he’s still in it. I feel like zombies are more likely to occur than President Donald Trump. It makes me cringe.”
Although Jeb Bush is the only candidate that dropped out after the South Carolina primary, I suspect that John Kasich and Ben Carson will be close behind in quitting the GOP race. Trump, Rubio and Cruz are the top three Republican candidates.
In the past week, the presidential election has been progressing at a rapid pace, and I can practically feel the election nearing even though a new president will not be sworn in until January 20, 2017.
Lingren emphasized the importance of this upcoming election, and he is eager to see how the race will turn out.
“My belief is that we need a leader who can compromise with the masses,” Lingren said. “This country is going through a period of time that will have revolutionary effects on our future. This election season is going to impact other parts of the world, and it’s important that we make the right decision, whether that’s electing a Democrat or Republican.”
This is an important race, and it doesn’t feel like Obama has already served this country for nearly eight years. Soon, it will be his time to step down and another leader will take his place. We can only hope that the next president of the United States will serve this country well.