With the 2016 general election rapidly approaching, the Democratic and Republican primaries are now in full swing.
Primary elections are the means by which both the Republican and Democratic parties decide their respective party nominees for president at their party convention. This convention is attended by a number of delegates selected in accordance to the results of the primary elections.
The Republican primary is now a competition among businessman/television personality Donald Trump, Ohio Governor
John Kasich, and Texas Senator Ted Cruz. The unsuccessful results in the earlier primaries led former candidates Florida Governor Jeb Bush and neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson to drop out of the race. Most recently, Florida Senator and Miami native Marco Rubio dropped out after losing
his home state by a large margin to the current Republican favorite, Donald Trump. The only candidate that has been a legitimate contender
with Trump is Senator Cruz who currently has 461 delegates and has won nine states. Rubio won just one state and two territories with a total of 171 delegates, before dropping out. Kasich recently won his first primary in his home state of Ohio, earning
a total of 144 delegates, lagging far behind Trump and Cruz.
“Despite the bickering and sometimes childish argument that has taken place over the process, I think it is important to pay close attention to the primary voting as it is an important part of the election process,” said junior Franco Caputo.
On the Democratic side, the race has already narrowed down to two candidates: Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Sanders’ recent win in the Michigan primary was the biggest upset in United States primary history according to fivethirtyeight. com, as numerous projections gave Clinton a 99+% chance of winning. Following this significant win, Sanders’s momentum continues to escalate, as he most recently swept three western states- Alaska, Washington, and Hawaii – the most important
of which is Washington, which earned him 25 delegates. Clinton still holds a fairly comfortable lead, having won 20 states so far and 1,243 pledged delegates, compared to Sanders who has won 15 states and a total of 980 delegates.
“Although I do not have a favorite candidate, I think the upcoming primaries will be important as some of the winners take all primaries that are coming up,” said junior Nicholas Atkison.
According to fivethirtyeight.com, a website that uses statistical analysis to make predictions and forecasts, Trump is in the lead for the Republican nomination with a 41.4% chance of success, Cruz trails behind with 28%, and Kasich with less than a 16.4% chance. In the Democratic race, Clinton is in the lead with a 51% chance of winning and Sanders follows close behind with a 40% chance.
