Caucuses and election open to new voters

By Casey Jones

On Feb. 1, the Iowa caucuses were held, bringing in surprising results for both the Republican and Democratic parties alike.

For the Republican side, Ted Cruz managed to trump Donald Trump by a margin of 4%, with the results being 28% for Cruz, 24% for Trump, 23% for Marco Rubio, and the rest split up among the various other Republican candidates.

This is a major step forward for Cruz, who, like most of the other Republican candidates, has been trailing behind Trump for most of the election.

For the Democrats, the vote was close, between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, with Martin O’Malley gaining less than 1% of the votes.

Both Clinton and Sanders finished the night with 50% of the votes, with three minor votes decided by coin toss.

Clinton won all three coin tosses and put herself in the lead by not even a full percent.

This shows some implications with Clinton’s campaign; with Sanders so close behind and constantly gaining support, he could easily overtake her as the year goes on.

These results are not final for the nomination process, but they can act be a prediction of who will win the nomination for each party.

Historically, since the Iowa caucuses were established, a fair majority of front-runners in the caucus received the nomination from their party.

Of course, this is with exceptions.

Many supporters of Sanders in the crowd and around the country do not view this as a loss for Sanders.

The fact that Clinton is leading by such a razor-thin margin means Sanders has an actual chance to win the nomination.

In a statement, Sanders made a remark about the final score being a “virtual tie” as the crowd chimed in with their support, “Feel the Bern!”

These results leave me fairly excited about this election, since Trump is falling behind and Sanders is finally catching up with, if not beginning to overtake, Clinton.

With the year starting off and moving by quickly, we all need to take into consideration the importance of these events and how the election will effect us.

I support Sanders, but as students, this will be the first presidential caucuses and election we will be able to participate in.

I urge each and every one of you to look at the candidates for this year and give your support to one.

It doesn’t matter whom you support.

As the newest generation of adults, we need to insert ourselves into the equation when it comes to politics so that we can make decisions for the United States that our generation will be living in.

Make your voice heard; don’t let others decide for you. Caucus. Vote.

Just do it.

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