This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Bucknell chapter.

Spotlight on the 2016 Presidential Race: What Did the Results in Iowa Tell Us? Why Should Bucknell Students Care?

Featuring Campus Political Party Club Leaders Ethan Wise (R) and Brady Clapp (D).

While Bucknellians are just starting to find their groove back on campus—after having a month off during Winter Break—there has been no rest for the 2016 Presidential candidates. Between rallies, debates, Twitter battles, and e-mail scandals, both Republican and Democratic presidential hopefuls have proven that this year’s election is anything but over…in fact, it’s just getting started.

On Monday, February 1st, voters in Iowa during the Iowa Caucus — known to be, “…the first major electoral event of the presidential election cycle…”(ABC News)— not only demonstrated how imperfect early polling can be, but also that the race for the nation’s next president is highly contentious. While the final votes on Monday declared Ted Cruz as the Republican frontrunner, winning 27.6% of the vote over Donald Trump’s 24.3% and Marco Rubio’s 23.1%, the race on the Democratic side was not as decisive. Though Hillary Clinton declared herself the Democratic victor early Tuesday morning—earing 49.9% of the vote and saying that she was breathing a “big sigh of relief”—Bernie Sanders commented on Monday night that the race was “a virtual tie” (CNN). While some polls had shown Sanders trailing Clinton before the Iowa Caucus, the Senator from Vermont earned 49.6% of the vote on Monday—losing to Clinton by a mere 0.3%.

To help make sense of the happenings in Iowa and what to look for in candidates going forward, I reached out to Brady Clapp ’17 President of the College Democrats and Ethan Wise ’17 President of Bucknell University Conservative Club for guidance on the Presidential Race.

HC: What do you think the results of the Iowa Caucus show (beyond just winners and losers)?

Clapp: “I think that the Iowa Caucuses, more so than anything else, go to show that this contest is anything but over…The fact that Senator Sanders was able to hold Clinton to a mere 0.3% advantage makes a powerful statement for his strength and attractiveness as a candidate…With New Hampshire up next on the 9th, a state in which Senator Sanders has a lead of almost 25 points, he seems poised to continue his momentum at least for the next few weeks. On the other hand, after New Hampshire, the Democratic candidates will travel to Nevada and South Carolina, both states in which Clinton has a distinct advantage…Once the primaries move into more racially and socioeconomically diverse states, I believe that Clinton will be well poised to win the nomination.”

Wise: “I actually think that both the republican and democratic primaries in Iowa showed similar results. On the republican side, nearly 90% of the vote went to candidates who are considered by many to be political outsiders – with the “presumed” nominee, Jeb Bush, only getting about 3%. The democratic side showed similar results in terms of political outsiders, with Sanders nearly edging out a victory against the party’s presumed nominee of Hillary Clinton. I also thought that it showed the lack of ground game that Trump has, which made him slide almost to third place, beating Rubio by only 1%.”

HC: What do you think voters should be looking for in a presidential candidate? What question(s) should college voters be asking?

Clapp: “It is difficult to say exactly what the “ideal” candidate for college students, or indeed anyone, should look like, since everyone values different ideals, which will lead them to drastically different views on who is the best candidate for them. [However], I think that college students need to ask candidates about what exactly they bring to the table for young people like us enrolled in institutions of higher education. We represent a large swath of the country whose interests are heavily underrepresented in American politics. Do you a candidate a plan to combat student loan debt? What about the minimum wage? If they aren’t in favor of raising it (the minimum wage), are they at least in support of indexing it to inflation? What about marriage equality, a woman’s right to choose, or income inequality?”

Wise: “Voters should be looking for someone who truly believes what they say in their campaign speech – and not someone who just says whatever they need to get elected. Look into candidates’ backgrounds, make sure you know what their records are whether it be their voting records, donors, or what bills they’ve co-sponsored. I don’t think college voters should really focus on one issue more than others – but I think they should know what a candidate’s positions are on issues that are important to them. If you’d like to know what we’re asking, we are interviewing current candidates on our radio show (Wednesdays at 9pm on WVBU), including Joe Sestak who is running for a Senate seat representing the state of Pennsylvania.”

HC: Got any advice for Bucknell students who are undecided and perhaps unmotivated to vote?

Clapp: “Vote. You need to do it. I know it sounds clichéd, but people all around the world are fighting and dying for the right to vote in free and open elections. We have no excuse not to participate in the electoral process. If you don’t like something about American politics, use your vote to change it. We as young people tend to [complain] that we have no voice in the political system and that it is inherently corrupt and inaccessible, but then fail to show up to the polls to change it. As long as we remain silent, nothing will ever change. Young people could change American politics forever if we showed up to vote and used our power to remake the political system into something more equal and just.”

Wise: “I’d say two things:

1. Don’t take what anyone says as fact, including me. Look it up yourself.

2. History is filled with oppression, dictators, and economic immobility. America dramatically changed things, and as Ronald Reagan once said, ‘Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.’”

HC: Besides looking at a candidate’s website, where should college students be getting their presidential race news? What cites do you use to stay up-to-date?

Clapp: “We as American voters have the ability to vet our candidates as never before, but too many of us blindly follow public opinion or vote straight tickets. It is incumbent upon us as citizens to make informed, educated decisions about those who would lead our nation… Personally I think the best site for any political news is Politico. It’s free and has fantastic analysis of election, campaigns, candidates, and pretty much any political news you could ask for. Another great source is PolitiFact. They are a nonpartisan fact checking source that will analyze statements made by politicians and rate them on their truthfulness, with plenty of research to back up their ratings.”

Wise: “I don’t think there’s necessarily one place to get all the presidential race news. I personally get a lot of news from following political journalists on Twitter and Facebook, as well as Fox and CNN. A site called FiveThirtyEight has some very interesting and insightful stats about the race.”

The 2016 Presidential race is heating up, with many more votes to be counted and debates to be had. Here are some key dates to look forward to:

February 9th: New Hampshire Primary
February 11th: Democratic Debate
February 20th: Nevada Democratic Caucus and South Carolina Republican Primary

Sources:

Campus Profile: Spotlight on the 2016 Presidential Race

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