Tag: caucus

  • Super Tuesday Results Are Rolling In

    Super Tuesday went as expected.  Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump got the most attention as well as the most delegates. Clinton, gaining a lot of support with 1052 delegates (including superdelegates), won Alabama with 77.8%, Arkansas with 66.3%, Georgia with 71.3%, Massachusetts with 50.1%, Tennessee with 66.1%, Texas with 65.2%, and Virginia with 64.3%. With her big support from the South, one can only assume she will get the Democratic nomination and that her opponent Bernie Sanders has only a slim chance of defeating her. However, the younger generation — myself included — feels that Sanders is the right man for the job, but simply does not have as many connections or as much publicity as Clinton. Sanders, who won 427 delegates, is not to be overlooked. Though Senator Sanders was only able to win a few states [Colorado, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Vermont (duh)], I have high hopes for him as the campaign progresses.
    As for the Republicans, it is still anyone’s game. Trump, of course, remains in the lead with 319 delegates. He won Alabama (43.4%), Arkansas (32.8%), Georgia (38.8%), Massachusetts (49.3%), Tennessee (38.9%), Vermont (32.7%), and Virginia (34.7%). Trump, who is by far the most talked-about candidate overall, has been nearly unstoppable. Popular he is, but likable he is not, which leaves many asking, “Who in America can beat this billionaire?’’ Well, Ted Cruz might be the best bet for defeating Donald Trump. Not that far behind with 226 delegates, Cruz is someone any Republican who is anti-Trump (or anyone for that matter) should definitely keep an eye on. Other candidates, including Marco Rubio, John Kasich, and Ben Carson, really did not show any significant progress.
    The two clear winners are already narrowed down to Clinton and Trump; that is really what it seems to always come down to.  And it is more than just a question of Democrat or Republican—it is businessman or former First Lady and former Secretary of State, it is man or woman. I do not think someone without experience should be able to have so many followers backing up everything he says, nor do I feel that Clinton  is the right woman for the job. Walls are for dividing kitchens and living rooms, not countries.
    I would like to see some of the other candidates stepping up to the plate and taking the spots of both the Democratic and Republican front-runners. I think Rubio and Cruz have a chance of overtaking Trump in the near future—a small chance, but one indeed. I feel that a lot of other people will be more open minded about what they have to say as the election moves on.

  • America, Give Iowa a Try

    With the presidential election moving ahead, with President Barack Obama finishing his second term, and with others just itching to become the new president of the United States, the Iowa caucuses took place on February 10 for the candidates to compete for the most votes.
    In the Republican Party, Ted Cruz won with 27.6% of the vote, beating second-place candidate Donald Trump, who gained 24.3% of the vote. Hillary Clinton took first in the Democratic Party with 49.9%, 0.3% lead over second-place candidate Bernie Sanders, who took 49.6% of the vote.
    Unfortunately, there is some debate over whether the primaries for the party nominations should start in such an unrepresentative state. According to a 2014 survey by the US Census Bureau, 92.1% of the state of Iowa is white. African-Americans, Hispanics, Latinos and other racial minorities do not make up a large portion of the Iowa population. The Iowa caucuses have been criticized as “overwhelmingly white.” What makes the 2016 presidential election so interesting is that some candidates are Jewish [Bernie Sanders (D-VT)] or of African-American [Ben Carson (R)] or Cuban [Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Marco Rubio (R-FL)] descent. Some say that Americans are more open to having a Catholic, female, black, Hispanic, or Jewish president.
    The Iowa caucuses are problematic for future primaries. Because it is the first state to vote in the presidential primaries, Iowa sets the tone for the future primaries and can even sway voter decisions in other states’ primaries. Iowa contains few major cities and hardly any people of color. New Hampshire is in a similar boat as Iowa, being the second state to hold its primary. Iowa and New Hampshire have large white populations, 92.1% in Iowa and 94.2% in New Hampshire. African-Americans make up only 3.3% and Latinos 5.6% in Iowa; New Hampshire is 1.5% African-American and 5.6% Latino. The United States collectively is 77.7% white, 13.2% black, and 17.1% Latino.
    Over fifty years ago, African-Americans campaigned and fought for the right to vote; now we have that vote. However, when presidential elections start with a deeply unrepresentative primary, we need to reassess whether this is truly equal. I believe it would be much better to have the Nevada caucus spearhead the primaries because it has a more diverse population. Nevada’s population is 51.5% white, 9.2% black, and 27.8% Latino, a much more representative racial breakdown than Iowa’s. This would not be a huge change either; Nevada is the third state the hold its primary (Tuesday, February 9 for the Democratic National Party and February 23 for the GOP). All we need to do is move the caucus up three weeks and let a more diverse state set the tone for the presidential election.