An update on the 2016 election

02/25/2016

Crystal Gonzalez
Staff Writer

The 2016 presidential election is still more than eight months away, but that doesn’t mean the excitement and controversy have disappeared.

A few candidates have emerged as frontrunners in the election, while others are ending their campaigns with each primary that occurs. Prior to the South Carolina primary, major candidates included Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, and Republicans Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, and Jeb Bush. Let’s catch up quickly.

The most recent political event was Nevada primary, which was won by Trump. Trump had 45.9% of the vote, followed by Marco Rubio with 23.9%

Trump is currently leading overall as well. Following the Nevada primary, Trump had 81 delegates of the 1,237 needed to win the Republican nomination. His closest opponent, Cruz, has 17 delegates.

Following low numbers in the South Carolina primary, Bush dropped out of the race for president.

The Democratic primary in South Carolina was held on Feb. 24, but results were not available. Only hours before polls closed in the southern state, Clinton was leading in national polls.

Clinton recently won the Nevada Democratic primary, and is leading overall. She has 503 out of 2,383 delegates needed to win the nomination.

Sanders trails Clinton with 70 delegates.

Brian Frederick, associate professor and chairman of the political science department, does not believe this is the most important election in American history.

Instead, he said that all elections are important.

Dr. Frederick also said that losing the Massachusetts voting could have an impact on any candidate. The Massachusetts primary takes place on March 1, typically known as Super Tuesday. Many states primaries are held that day, including Massachusetts.

Frederick said that Clinton’s email controversy could hurt her campaign.

When ask if people side with Trump, not because of his politics but because of the controversial things he said, Frederick said that people’s fear and trust regarding Trump could impact his election results.

Frederick said that, of all the candidates, Cruz has the best chance for winning the nomination against Trump, the current leader.

Crystal Gonzalez is a Comment staff writer.