Several individuals have already announced their candidacy for president in 2016, with more expected to do so in the near future. The primaries, or elections to determine the Democratic and Republican candidates for the general election, take place February through June of 2016, and the general Election Day is Tuesday, November 8, 2016.

Many students will be eligible to vote in this upcoming presidential election. While some may not vote at all, others feel strongly towards the parties or issues involved like abortion and gay marriage.

“I’m absolutely [for] gay rights,” senior Matt Lomas said. “I will not vote for someone who doesn’t support gay marriage, same with women’s right to choose. Hillary Clinton is probably my best bet right now.”

According to a 2016 presidential election candidate tracker by the New York Times, Hillary Clinton is a strong Democratic candidate who currently seems to be the most popular choice for the Democratic candidate in the general election. Most Democrats and liberal Independents seem to be leaning towards voting for Clinton in the Democratic primaries, but the Independent candidate Bernie Sanders is also running with the Democrats for the primaries.

“I feel like affiliating to one party means that you ascribe to all their ideals, and I don’t want to,” junior Mekael Daniel said. “So far, I side with Bernie Sanders, but I need to hear more about [the candidates] first.”

Daniel will be eligible to vote in the upcoming election. When confronted by her friend who strongly sides with Clinton, she argued that although her stance on women’s rights might be a step in the right direction, she wants a president who addresses the race issues instead of avoiding the subject. Democratic stances on issues tend to be focusing on having clean energy, healthcare, and supporting social stances like pro-choice.

Other students are debating over which Republican candidate to vote for.

“I’m probably going to register Republican,” senior Mary Rahjes said. “I feel that the Republican party usually focuses more on national security as a whole. Even though they don’t support the welfare as much as the Democratic party, it’s because they’d rather people have jobs than be dependent on handouts.”

Several Republican candidates have been announced. Some of the more popular current candidates are Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson, and Carly Fiorina. Common conservative stances amongst candidates in the Republican party include supporting tax cuts, the traditional definition of heterosexual marriage, being pro-life, and increasing national security.
For more information on candidate platforms, visit http://2016.presidential-candidates.org/.