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A Collegiette’s Guide to the 2016 Presidential Election Candidates

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

President (n): (often initial capital letter) the highest executive officer of a modern republic, as the Chief Executive of the United States.

As young adults we have the opportunity and patriotic duty to vote for our future President.  The 2012 Presidential Election was a success for young voters, ages 18-29 years old, as they represented almost 19 percent of the total voter population. Almost 50 percent of the young adults in this age group voted, and 60 percent of this population voted for the democratic candidate, Barak Obama, who has held two consecutive terms. Now that the position is up for grabs, it is once again time to introduce the announced nominees for the Presidential Primaries (as there may be more who commit at a later time).  Here is a brief description of each candidate and highlights of their political platforms.

Republican Party

Ted Cruz

Positions Held: US Senator of Texas

Education: Harvard University and Princeton University

Important Platforms:

·      Protecting the Constitution

·      Advocates for more Border Control

·      Supports more affordable and accessible public schooling to low-income families

·      Wants prevent the allowance of late-term abortions

·      Promotes religious liberty

Rand Paul

Positions Held: US Senator of Kentucky

Education: Baylor University and Duke Medical School

Important Platforms:

·      Advocate against government overreach

·      Supports the protection of the Second Amendment

·      Believes education should be a matter decided on by individual states

·      Purposes tax cuts for all social classes

·      Supports criminal justice reform

Marco Rubio

Positions Held: US Senator of Florida

Education: University of Florida and University of Miami Law School

Important Platforms:

·      Demands improvement of the VA

·      Supports raise in Defense spending

·      Believes gay marriage is a state matter

·      Has a pro-life stance on abortion

·      Plans to reduce federal spending and pursue economic growth

 

Democratic Party

Hillary Clinton

Positions held: Former US Secretary of State, First Lady, Senator of New York, First Lady of Arkansas, Democratic Presidential Candidate of 2008

Education: Wellesley College and Yale Law School

Important Platforms:

·      Advocates for family planning and access to contraceptives

·      Focuses on the middle class and wants bankruptcy reform

·      Supports gay marriage

·      Supports equal pay among genders

·      Big promoter of education and improving public schools

 

There are many, many more important platforms from each individual; however, upon my research I just took note of their stance on the most advertised issues. These are the candidates who have announced their commitment in the primary, but there are more who are rumored to commit for both parties. I encourage all of our voting population to do their own research for the 2016 Presidential Election, and most importantly, don’t forget to vote!

 

 

This Feature would not be possible without the use of the following websites:

https://www.hillaryclinton.com/about/bio/

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2012/11/07/how-college-students-spent-election-day

http://www.ontheissues.org/hillary_clinton.htm

http://www.randpaul.com

https://www.tedcruz.org/

https://marcorubio.com/meet-marco/

Brittany is a freshman at UNCW. She is majoring in Communication Studies and minoring in English. Brittany enjoys the beach, reading, and working out.