Iowa caucus on February 1 will narrow down current multitude of party candidates leaving the front runners
Emily Nickles, Editor-in-Chief
Debates between popular presidential candidates have amassed major attention from the media and interest of citizens as the race tightens. The two major parties, republicans and democrats, seem to offer a narrow selection of candidates for the 2016 presidential race; however, there are an incredible amount of candidates that many people are not aware of.
According to www.ballotpedia.org, there are about 1,491 candidates who have submitted paperwork verifying their engagement in the presidential race. This information can also be found on the Federal Election Commission website in greater detail. About half of these candidates are members of little-known parties or are listed as “Other.” Some have filed for candidacy as early as 2008. If the filed candidates who are fraudulent are weeded out, jokesters who have filed “Taylor Swift,” “Vladimir Putin,” and even ridiculous names like “Ronald Childeater/molester KKK McSatanAntiChrist Jr.,” the number of candidates likens to about 1,400.
However, as the popular parties are republican and democrat, it is important to be aware of who will be on the ballot. Currently, as stated by www.ballotpedia.org and The New York Times, three Democrats remain in the race along with twelve republicans. There have been three major democrat candidates and five republicans who have dropped out of the race so far.
Among the three candidates who have pledged to the Democratic Party are Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley. CNN has posted a prediction poll for who will come out of the Iowa Caucus as the representative of their party. The ratings are 80% Clinton, 18% Sanders, with Martin O’Malley not being predicted as making it through the caucus. Www.democrats.org lists the party’s focus on their website:
“There are several core beliefs that tie our party together: Democrats believe that we’re greater together than we are on our own—that this country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules…That’s why Democrats are working to make progress on issues like job creation, equal pay, education, health care, and clean energy.” Each party has a preamble or mission statement that candidates pledge to support and make their focus.
The Republican Party still has twelve candidates running on its behalf: Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Jim Gilmore, Mike Huckabee, John Kasich, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Rick Santorum and Donald Trump.
The GOP website states in its Preamble: “We must begin anew, with profound changes in the way government operates; the way it budgets, taxes, and regulates. Jefferson’s vision of a ‘wise and frugal government’ must be restored.” Candidates who pledge to the Republican Party aim to “return government to its proper role: making it smaller and smarter” and “celebrate success, entrepreneurship, and innovation.” CNN predicts four candidates will be republican nominees: 4% Bush, 23% Cruz, 23% Rubio, and 45% Trump.
Other parties have increased in number and offer candidates to the public, though they are lesser known. The Green Party, Veterans Party of America, Freedom Party, Constitution Party, American Independent Party, American Freedom Party (aka American 3rd Position) and the Independent Party are just a few examples. Their webpages can be found by searching the party name, where the preamble, mission statement, or platform will be available for viewing.
The Iowa Caucus will take place Feb. 1. The website www.uspresidentialelectionnews.com explains it simply: “The caucuses are an event where voters from all of 1,774 Iowa voting precincts meet to elect delegates to the county conventions. From the county convention, of which there are exactly 99,
delegates are chosen for the state party convention. Eventually, the state party convention elects delegates to attend the national party convention, where a Presidential nominee is selected.” There, the pool of candidates will be narrowed down to party nominees.
Students interested in voting this Nov. 2016 can register select days on-campus or go to their local voter registration offices. There are up to 30 days before the vote date to register.
The Lasso will be following the Presidential Elections until voting ends in november and a new president is announced. Read us in print or online.
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