Welcome 2016! It's a leap year which means the year is filled with countless celebrations like an extra day in February, the Summer Olympics and to top it all off, the Presidential Election.
Throughout 2015, there were countless individuals who began their campaign, many individuals who were widely expected to run for the Presidency, but declined, and finally those who didn't make it to 2016 and already dropped out of the race. Knowing who to vote for is no easy task, but it's not impossible. First, one has to decide whether they are more conservative, in which they would vote for a Republican Candidate, or if they are more liberal, in which they would vote for a Democratic Candidate. Once you know what party you are most comfortable in, the next step is to complete individual research on each candidate until you find the one that appeals to you most.
There are countless numbers of political parties and candidates who represent them, but these minor third parties and their candidates get swallowed up by the two major parties known to most voters, the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Later on this year,the Republican and Democratic party will each choose one candidate whom they will have represent them on the ballot, but for now, there are still a swarm of candidates and it's almost impossible to keep up with them all. To best understand the candidates, I broke this article into two parts, so this week, lets focus on the democrats. There are currently three democratic candidates running to be the democratic representative on the ballot.
The current democratic front runner is former Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton. This is Clinton's second time running for the office of the presidency and the candidate that holds the most background along with experience for the Presidency. Clinton served as the First Lady, Senator from New York for eight years and Secretary of State for four years under President Obama's first administration. As a senator, Clinton tended to vote more liberal and expressed liberal views, while remaining partially moderate. One of Clinton's main political goals was health care reform, from her time as First Lady to years after, Clinton continually fought for this reform and finally saw victory under President Obama. You can see a full list of Clinton's stance on various issues here.
According to the Federal Elections Commission, in the 2016-2016 Campaign Season, the Clinton Campaign, Hillary for America, has attained $77,471,603.55 in campaign funds.The campaign currently has $32,995,172.39 on hand, but can proudly most that it has attained the most funding this season than any other campaign.
Right behind Clinton and another strong contender is Senator Bernard Bernie Sanders. This is Sanders first campaign for the White House, but he has served as Virginia's sole congressman in the House of Representatives for 16 years, until he was elected as the Senator from Virginia, in which he is now serving his second term. In his time at the congress, Sanders was a liberal voter and expressed his liberal views on many issues. Throughout his time in congress, Sanders fought tirelessly and endlessly for the middle class and working families. You can see a full list of Sander's stance on various issues here.
According to the Federal Elections Commission, in the 2016-2016 Campaign Season, the Sanders Campaign, Bernie 2016, has attained $41,463,783.81 in campaign funds. The campaign currently has $27,119,721.50 on hand.
Bernie 2016
One of the lesser known democratic candidates for President is former Governor Martin Joseph O'Malley. O'Malley is the former Mayor of Baltimore and the former Governor of Maryland.
According to the Federal Elections Commission, in the 2016-2016 Campaign Season, the O'Malley campaign, O'Malley for President, has attained $3,289,725.60 in campaign funds. The campaign currently has $805,986.83 on hand.
AP Photo/Jim Mone
The Democratic candidates are fairly easy to understand because there aren't as many of them and they're all not at each others throats. Look out for my article next week where I attempt to navigate the political maze of the Republican Presidential Candidates.
