Emma Harris, Contributing Writer
Although the 2016 Presidential Election is more than a year away, the candidates have already saturated national news outlets. With five candidates from the Democratic Party and 16 from the Republican, the recent polls are showing that it’s going to be a tight race for all candidates.
Two recent polls by Quinnipiac University shared polling information about the candidates of both the Democratic and the Republican parties in the Iowa caucus. Published on September 10 and 11, the polls were separated by party to discuss the upcoming primary elections, which will occur in the coming months, ranging from February to June for each state next year.
The frontrunners of the Democratic Party include Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton. Although current Vice President Joe Biden has yet to release an official candidacy announcement, he has said he is considering running.
Clinton’s platform includes messages of higher minimum wage, paid family and medical leave, early childhood education, and affordable child care. This will bring her the support of predominately white, working class women.
Sanders is more liberal than any of the other Democratic candidates and has called himself a “democratic socialist.” In his campaign he demands action on the controversies of economic fairness, declining participation in unions, and soaring college debt. In the pool of Democratic candidates, Sanders is polling slightly better than Clinton in Iowa, with Sanders at 41 percent and Clinton at 40 percent. Although Biden is not currently running, 12 percent of the Iowa Democratic caucus has backed him in the polls.
The front runners of the Republican Party are businessman Donald Trump, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, and Texas Senator Ted Cruz. Behind them are New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former business executive Carly Fiorina, Ohio Governor John Kasich, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.
These top ten Republican nominees will be featured in another CNN debate at 8:00 p.m. on September 16 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
Trump is currently leading the Iowa Republican caucus with 27 percent, followed by Carson with 21 percent, and Cruz with nine percent. Trump promises to “make America great again” and has the support of many voters who do not favor current President, Barack Obama. Carson has traditional conservative views on most subjects but is most concerned with health care issues. He has made a healthcare plan in which most people would pay their medical bills through health a saving account that the government would make contributions to for low-income people. He has also said that he would eliminate Medicare and Medicaid. Cruz is running as the most conservative candidate and could win because he represents a turn away from Barack Obama and liberalism.
The long road to this year’s election is strewn with a wide selection of candidates, and will make for a very interesting season.
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