Although it might seem early, election season is officially here. Ted Cruz, the freshman senator from Texas, became the first official candidate back in March. Rand Paul, another freshman senator, announced his candidacy on Apr. 7.
And so, nine months from the first primaries, the race is on.
The Republican field is crowded with a dozen or so potential candidates. The Democratic field is less broad; many people already see former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as a lock, but four or five others are likely to challenge.
Many college students are unaware the race has started.
“I don’t know anything about this stuff,” said Stephanie Zewe, a public administration and sports management graduate student.
Cruz was the first in the race. The Republican Texas senator announced his candidacy in March, declaring himself the evangelical candidate, a conservative’s conservative, and looks to garner the votes of the so-called Reagan Democrats.
Cruz, maybe best known for a 13-hour filibuster that led to the 2013 government shutdown, has gotten himself into hot water recently, affirming his support for Indiana governor Mike Pence’s controversial religious freedom bill and warning his supporters of “the jihad that is being waged right now in Indiana and Arkansas, going after people of faith who respect the biblical teaching that marriage is the union of one man and one woman.”
The only other candidate officially in the race at this early date is Rand Paul, the Kentucky senator. His father, Ron Paul, ran for president in the past, and Rand could inherit a large base from him. But his recent attempts to win over the more hawkish and conservative in the Republican Party could alienate many of his father’s libertarian supporters.
In his first week as an official candidate, Paul has been a bit of a media darling, though he also had some heated exchanges with the Associated Press over abortion. Still, David Boaz, vice president of the libertarian Cato Institute, thinks there may be a huge untapped libertarian-leaning voting bloc just waiting for someone like Paul, whose views on foreign policy, drugs, and policing aren’t the GOP norm.
Marco Rubio is expected to announce his candidacy Monday in Miami. Rubio is a first-term senator from Florida and former Jeb Bush protégé. It seems likely he’ll forgo seeking reelection for a second senate term in favor of trying to become the first Hispanic president.
Jeb Bush is also making the rounds, collecting donations and speaking at a National Rifle Association (NRA) rally, trying to garner support. Bush, while having name recognition and access to donors, is seen by many conservatives as a no-go. Bush supports the Common Core for education, a sort of litmus test for conservatism, and one that Bush failed.
Regardless, Bush is likely to announce in the coming month and will be a major force in the primaries.
Other names kicking around the Republican field are Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, who saw some national attention with his right-to-work legislation; New Jersey governor Chris Christie; Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal; and Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon.
No Democrats have announced yet, but Hillary Clinton is the current favorite. The former Secretary of State has been under recent scrutiny for her use of a private email server for official State business and many liberals see her record at the State Department as too conservative, so she’s not coasting along scot-free.
Martin O’Malley is her most serious challenger yet, saying he’s “very seriously considering a run in 2016.”
And readers should not forget Bernard Sanders, the Independent senator from Vermont.
Regardless of political party, young voters play an important part in the upcoming election.
“I think that we as college students should take interest in our political process because our future is at stake,” said Kevin Carson, a freshman applied public policy major and treasurer of the College Democrats.
And as Zewe said, when people vote, “they give you those awesome little ‘I voted’ stickers.”
Sean West is a fourth-year student majoring in English. He can be reached at SW743828@wcupa.edu.