For a political science major like me, the chaos that is "Debate Season" is some glorious drama that will keep us politically inclined individuals entertained for days. Often these debates are memorable for weeks and maybe even for the months to come leading up to Election Day. But for the biology majors, the engineers, Ag kids, and other students that attend the University of Idaho, it can get confusing. Here is a breakdown of what is happening currently with the debates on both sides of the aisle in the race for the Presidency.
Who are the key players in these debates?
| DEMOCRATS | REPUBLICANS |
| Hillary Clinton | Donald Trump (and his hair) |
| Bernie "Feel the Bern" Sanders | Jeb Bush |
| Martin O'Malley | Dr. Ben Carson |
| Jim Webb | Chris Christie |
| Lincoln Chafee | Ted Cruz |
| Carly Fiorina | |
| Jim Gilmore | |
| Lindsey Graham | |
| John Kasich | |
| Mike Huckabee | |
| Bobby Jindal | |
| George Pataki | |
| Rand Paul | |
| Marco Rubio | |
| Rick Santorum |
When have these debates occurred?
The Republicans have had two debates, compared to the one debate the Democrats have had, and that was just this past week in Las Vegas hosted by CNN and Facebook. Why is that? Some may conclude that there is a need for more debates on the right-side of the aisle due to the massive primary nominations list--and all have some following to be not quite as relevant but still pretty significant; where the Democrats are pretty slim in their pickings because they need to make a nomination that will not serve as "Obama's third term" as Anderson Cooper described it during the debate on Oct. 13.
Why do these debates happen? And why do they happen so early relative to Election Day 2016?
There is no definitive reason as to why these debates happen so much earlier than when the nominations for each party would be announced, but they seem to get earlier and earlier every year. These debates allow the people to see their responses to questions that could be pressing to their potential administration, and it puts their opinions on official record rather than certain things these candidates might say on the campaign trail.
Is it important to pay attention to these debates?
These are the official platforms that candidates use in order to show how they are either different or the same as their fellow candidates. If someone is clammy and nervous, or trips over their words--people notice (ahem! Dr. Ben *cough* Carson and Lincoln "It was my first day" Chafee)! Pay attention to what candidates say in the beginning, as well as how they act, because they are hoping and praying that we will not remember their screw ups over a year from now.
Which Presidential candidate should YOU support?
As college students, it is hard to get away from certain individuals that are declaring their love for various candidates; which this is a good sign, yet how does one know if their support is going towards the right individual for them? If you are lost in the sea of what the media is throwing at you, check out this website http://www.isidewith.com/ This website is a great tool to not only see which candidates align with your views, but also a way for you to figure out your own views and see how it aligns with a political party.
And FINALLY this...
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/10/democratic-p...
The next debates that are scheduled to take place on Oct. 28 for the Republicans in Boulder, Colorado and Nov. 14 for the Democrats in Des Moines, Iowa.
