Just looking at one news segment anywhere in the United States will show just how big the 2016 election is going to be when next November rolls around. With more than a dozen republican candidates running and only about a third of that number running for the Democratic nomination, it is proving to be an interesting race.
There have already been two GOP debates for Republican candidates to voice their opinions and platforms for U.S. citizens with ample news coverage about both in case anyone missed any of the action.
This is a big election because president Barack Obama cannot run again, so his position must be replaced next year. Many people around the country are looking for a change in the White House and U.S. policies. With recent issues such as the European migration crisis, ISIS attacks and immigration into the United States, in addition to all of the usual issues of economics, environmental sustainability and social movements, each candidate this year is working hard to come up with sensible solutions that citizens can get on board with.
Right now, Donald Trump is leading the Republican Party and Hillary Clinton is leading the Democratic Party. Carly Fiorina, however, has shot up in the polls to a close third behind Ben Carson and Trump after the last debate. While Trump still stands out on the issues to many people, Fiorina called him out on certain issues and made a good personal impression to help her gain popularity in the polls.
Photo credit: CNN
Bernie Sanders is slowly creeping closer to Clinton’s lead for Democratic Party, but still has a little way to go. Vice President, Joe Biden, is contemplating running for office, but his candidacy is still not officially confirmed. If he does decide to run, voters can expect to see his name alongside Clinton and Sanders soon.
It seems to me that most of the focus and emphasis on this election is on the Republican candidates. It makes sense, however, because there are significantly more people running in that party, and there has been a Democrat in office since 2008, so hearing what candidates from the other side have to say about how to solve issues is probably something many people want to hear and read about.
Throughout the course of the race, candidates like Clinton and Trump have seen the gap between them and the second place candidates behind them shrink. With Trump’s comments regarding immigrants and Clinton’s email scandal, it has not been easy for them to hold onto their lead. I’m honestly kind of surprised the race isn’t closer because of these factors, but I guess people still like their platforms and ideas.
Obviously different websites and different polls are not going to show the same person winning, but most polls that I checked, such as Real Clear Politics, have Clinton in the lead right now. From my experience in the past following elections, it is really too early to tell what is going to happen at this stage in the game because there may still be more people declaring candidacy and more issues may need to be addressed later on in the race.
I have a feeling this is going to be a tough race for some people to follow and make decisions about which candidate they want to vote for. There are quite a few Republican candidates, which makes it harder for some people to follow everything each of them says. There have also been many big issues brought up that take serious thought and consideration about policies to fix them. It’s not always easy to decide which plan is going to work best and which person is going to implement that plan. If I know one thing for sure, it will be an interesting 2016 for Americans.
Jessica Blondell 