This presidential election has been a whirlwind, and it is one of the most monumental and historical elections this country has ever seen. Hillary Clinton was the first woman in American history to run as the nominee for a major political party. Her candidacy marked the first time a husband and a wife both ran for the presidency. Donald Trump will be the first United States president without any prior political or military experience, and at age 70, he will be the oldest first-term president to enter the Oval Office (Ronald Reagan was 73 when he was sworn in for his second term).
The election cycle concluded this Tuesday when Donald Trump was elected, and a lot of questions have been left unanswered. As someone who studies politics like it's her job, I thought I'd take some time this week to break things down and resolve some standing confusion about what happened this year. Buckle in, people.
1. Why is the election cycle so long?
The time between when we start hearing from campaigns and Election Day seems to get longer and longer every year. These strung-out cycles are a fairly new occurrence. In 1789, when George Washington became the first president, electors voted in January and he took office in April. Election cycles started to get a little longer when primaries started to take place in the early 20th century. Now, as of Election Day on November 8th, the 2016 presidential campaign season has lasted 597 days. The reasons for this vary, but most of them have to do with the fact that candidates have to campaign to be visible in the primaries, and then if and when they make it past that stage, there needs to be time for more campaigning, more fundraising, debates, and press circuits. It's a deeply corrupt part of our political system, but it won't change anytime soon. While our next presidential election doesn't occur until 2020, chances are that we'll start to see candidates come about around mid-2019.
2. How did Hillary Clinton win the popular vote, but not the election?
This has happened only four other times in the history of our nation and hasn't occurred since 2000 when Al Gore defeated George W. Bush in the popular vote but did not win the presidency. The electoral college is responsible for Trump's win. While Clinton won more votes than Trump, those votes did not come from the states with the electoral votes she needed (Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida, and Ohio). Our democracy is actually more of a republic because presidential elections are not decided based on the popular vote alone. If you're looking for a more in-depth explanation of the electoral college, check out this article.
3. What do you need to know about the new vice president?
Mike Pence is currently serving as the governor of Indiana. He calls himself "a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order." He signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which allows people to use the exercise of religious freedom as a defense in legal proceedings in the state of Indiana. He supports restrictions on abortion and defunding of Planned Parenthood, criticizes sex education, opposes extending civil rights for LGBTQ+ people, and opposed the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." (x)
4. What is going to happen to Obamacare?
Donald Trump has said that one of his first acts after taking office will be to eliminate Obamacare. If this happens, it will take time. 20 million Americans are covered under Obama's healthcare system, and it would take a while for a repeal of this size to pass through Congress. Chances are that if Trump goes through with repealing Obamacare, those covered will have time to find coverage elsewhere, and the current system will most likely remain in place for at least a year.
6. What's next?
Donald Trump will be inaugurated on January 20, 2017. President Obama will remain in office until that day. Trump will nominate someone to fill the empty Supreme Court seat. Here is his plan for his first 100 days in office. I am a firm believer that each president should set out to do better than the last, so while I'm sure many of us will miss President Obama, I wish President-elect Trump the best of luck.