Students Comment on the United States Presidential Race

In light of the shocking and nail-biting 2016 Iowa caucus, Central Michigan University students unveiled their favorite candidates and political opinions on the current race for the United State presidency.

Donald Trump, the highly controversial Republican candidate, who was widely regarded as the clear leader for the presidential nomination of the Republican Party, took second place behind right-wing Ted Cruz, who won with 27.6 percent of the vote compared to Trump’s 24.3 percent.

On campus, students were glad Trump didn’t take the crown in Iowa.

“It was almost relieving. I’ve seen so much flaming on Trump’s part,” Colby Tribble, a junior from North Carolina, said.

Although a front-runner in the GOP nomination, Trump has accumulated many critics because of his controversial comments on immigration and religion.

Marty Roberts, a 22-year-old student from Houghton Lake, stated his opinion on Trump’s criticized words.

“He’s one of those guys that might be able to get us nuked by Canada,” Roberts said.

On the other side of the political spectrum, the Democratic presidential nomination results in Iowa were historically close.

Front-runners Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders nearly split the percentage of votes, with Clinton receiving 49.9 percent and 23 delegates compared to Sanders’ 49.6 percent and 21 delegates.

Sanders, the 74-year-old senator from Vermont, has become a fan favorite among young voters because of his promise to eradicate tuition from public universities in the U.S.

Tribble is among the crowd.

“A lot of his views and plans correlate a lot with what I think the nation should be going toward,” Tribble said. “Bernie seems to be more for the people than Hillary, who seems to be more for the support.”

Tribble added he plans to vote for Sanders in the Michigan primaries March 8, after he registers in Mount Pleasant.

Sanders has become a clear favorite on social media, causing young voters to create the hashtag, #FeelTheBern. That being said, not every CMU student supports the candidate with socialist ideals.

Roberts said Sanders’ views are too far to the left and compares the candidate’s extreme place on the political spectrum to that of Ted Cruz.

“I feel like Bernie Sanders is more or less the Ted Cruz of the Democratic Party, if I may be excused for that,” Roberts said.

Roberts does not have a favorite candidate at the moment, but he has dwindled it down to two candidates.

“I guess, in this case, it would be a race between Ted Cruz and Hillary Clinton. I think Hillary has the credentials, although I am not particularly aware of either of their policies that would affect greater society now,” Roberts said.

Although the Iowa caucus greatly boosted Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio in the Republican nomination, several candidates were left in the dust.

Retired neurosurgeon, Dr. Ben Carson received only three delegates and 9.3 percent of the vote. Jeb Bush, the brother of former President George W. Bush, received one.

Nonetheless, Reed City freshman Logan Jones quickly stated why candidate Carson has her vote.

“I like his values, what he supports and what he doesn’t. He’s Republican and I agree more with the Republican side more than the Democratic side, and he’s also a Christian, which influences it,” Jones said.

Jones also commented on Carson’s honesty.

“I feel like he’s the most honest of all the candidates, and he hasn’t tried to bash any of the other candidates, or he doesn’t try to make himself seem better than he is. He just does what he does,” she said.

Jones said she would not vote in the November presidential election if Carson does not win the Republican Party nomination.

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