This is a short summary of the pros and cons of the five front-running hopefuls for the 2016 Presidential Election. There are three Republicans and two Democrats, all with a hope of becoming the nominee.
Republicans:
Mr. Donald Trump (26.5% in most recent Fox News poll)
Mr. Trump, the GOP front runner, is at a critical crossroads for his campaign. Mr. Trump had a huge, 10-point lead over former Florida Governor Jeb Bush on September 15. However, as Gov. Bush fell, neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson rose to come within three points of Mr. Trump on October 15. However, Mr. Trump did quite well in the Second Republican Debate on CNN to extend his lead over Dr. Carson to seven and a half points.
However, Mr. Trump then proceeded to spend an extremely disproportionate amount of time in Iowa, the state where the first caucus will take place in February of 2016. In Iowa, Mr. Trump lead Dr. Carson by seventeen points and Florida Senator Marco Rubio by twelve. However, Dr. Carson had campaigned well, and took up a two-point lead over Mr. Trump. However, very recently, Mr. Trump has taken up a fifteen point lead over Dr. Carson, far outside the polls’ margin of error.
It took everyone by surprise when Mr. Trump announced his bid for the Presidency. Mr. Trump is a 69-year old businessman from New York City and CEO of Trump Enterprises. He has a net worth of approximately $4.4 billion dollars, even though Mr. Trump likes to say that it is $9 billion. It was very much a surprise to see that Mr. Trump would attempt to become the President of the United States.
However, it is the businessman’s ideas that may sink him. His immigration ideas are open to criticism to many citizens, and in particular his ideas on building a wall between Mexico and the United States. Mr. Trump also mocked reporter Serge Kovalesky, who has a severe disability that makes him twitch, at a Trump 2016 rally in Florida. His recent comments, however, about banning all Muslim immigrants (even legal ones), may sink him.
The Bottom Line:
If Mr. Trump is to win the primaries and the General Election, he must lose his hot head and convey his ideas to more citizens.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (16% in latest polls)
Senator Rubio has been doing exceedingly well recently. He has gone from fourth place all the way to second, by a single point. Senator Rubio is proposing a much shorter tax plan, and also much less change to President Obama’s current ideas. Senator Rubio is leaning more toward the liberal side than most Republicans, but he is still very conservative. Senator Rubio seems to be gaining in popularity over the course of the election. Senator Rubio is the only politician in the top three Republican candidates, which contain Mr. Trump, Sen. Rubio, and Dr. Ben Carson (We’ll come to him later). That may help Sen. Rubio, seeing as he has much less conservative plans than the other two.
The Bottom Line:
Senator Rubio is doing very well, and he may win if he can simply wait out Senator Cruz and Mr. Trump.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz (16% in latest polls)
Senator Cruz is flirting around the second- place spot with Sen. Rubio. In many states, Sen. Cruz is even in first place, including in Texas, a huge state and home of the Republican Convention. Senator Cruz is technically in third place nationwide, but he is often in first in large states. Senator Cruz, however, has expressed racist views against Hispanics, and is currently the first choice of running mate for Mr. Trump.
The Bottom Line:
Senator Cruz is steadily gaining, and he may be the GOP nominee if Mr. Trump implodes with his stances on Muslim immigrants.
Democrats:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Secretary Clinton has the Democratic Nomination wrapped up.
Period.
Amid controversy of lying about deleting 30,000 public e-mails, Secretary Clinton has risen to over twenty- three points over Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in polls.
There’s not all that much to say on the subject.
Mrs. Clinton wants a $12 per hour minimum wage, much less than Sen. Sanders’ $15.
The Bottom Line:
Secretary Clinton is very likely going to win the nomination if she can only wait out Senator Sanders.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders
Senator Sanders is an extreme liberal. He supports a federal $15 minimum wage and wants to defeat ISIS before dealing with Syrian dictator Bashir-al Assad, an idea that is not shared with Secretary Clinton. There’s not much else to say on Sanders, or the Democrats in general, since Secretary Clinton won the nomination the day that she stepped into the race.
The Bottom Line:
Senator Sanders has a great chance to come up very close to Secretary Clinton, as he has a lot of momentum, but will not win.