With the New Year comes the beginning of the race to the White House with both the Democrats and Republicans vying for votes in their respective primaries and caucuses across the nation.
In the beginning …The first contest in this year’s presidential race was the Iowa caucuses, held on Jan. 3.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee finished ahead in the Republican caucus with 34 percent of the vote, while former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney finished second. Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson and Arizona Sen. John McCain finished third and forth, respectively.
“The eyes of the world are upon us during this election,” Jay Dawkins, a junior in civil engineering and chair of the College Republicans, said. “For many N.C. State students, this is the first time they will vote in a presidential election, and who they choose at the polls is an important decision not just for college students but for the nation.”
For the Democrats, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama won outright with 37 percent of the vote, followed by former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Growing changeFollowing the Iowa caucuses, many of the candidates adopted a platform of change for America. According to a Fox News poll taken during the New Hampshire primary, 60 percent of Democratic voters wanted change in Washington, D.C.
“This nation is definitely in need of change. The economy is doing poorly, the health care system needs to be overhauled and our relations with other nations are bad,” Tara Ilsley, a junior in political science and member of the College Democrats, said. “I’m really ashamed of our president and the direction of the country over the last seven years.”
The presidential contenders of 2008 include a diverse group of candidates including an African-American, a Mormon and a woman.
“I really like Dennis Kucinich as a candidate,” Josh Dudley, a sophomore in history, said. “His plan for universal health care really speaks to me, and I believe that it is the best plan for America.”
Finding changeAccording to Steven Greene, an associate professor of political science, very little distinguishes the Democratic candidates on major issues; they only differ in their campaign styles and personalities. And he sees little difference among the Republican candidates on most issues — the exception being immigration.
“McCain is the only Republican candidate that I see that offers comprehensive immigration reform in his platform,” Greene said. “The rest of the Republicans take a far-right stance when discussing immigration.”
Greene said health care reform, the continuing war in Iraq and the weakening U.S. economy are all major issues in this year’s caucuses and primaries.
“This election is an important one since the country is facing many big questions, and big divisions exist in America today,” Greene said.
And the top three Democratic candidates have similar plans for dealing with these hot-button issues. They favor rolling back President Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to pay for health care, and promote quickly withdrawing American troops from Iraq.
“I’m happy with the selection of Democratic candidates. I think all of them would be an extraordinary choice for President,” Ilsley said. “But I believe that Barack Obama would be the catalyst for change that this nation needs.”
Republican front-runners are also in agreement on several issues. McCain, Romney and Huckabee all support troop increases in Iraq and oppose a time table for withdrawing from the war. They support a free-market, consumer-based system for health care.
“I haven’t picked a candidate to support yet,” Dawkins said. “There are many good ones in the race, and with the theme of the campaign being ‘change,’ people need to remember that the conservative candidates can bring change too.”
Getting a head startThe primary season started earlier than ever this year with the second contest in New Hampshire held Jan. 8. According to a CNN poll, many Americans are happy the campaign season started in January.
However, most Americans are displeased with the power Iowa and New Hampshire voters have in deciding the presidential candidates, keeping the votes they cast in their respective primaries from counting as distinctively.
“The absurdly early start of this year’s primaries has placed emphasis on doing well early,” Greene said. “It used to be that if a candidate did not do well early, they could catch up since they had time to acquire more money and resources to fuel their campaign. Now if a candidate doesn’t have resources early, it’s really hard to catch up.”
A second actThe New Hampshire primaries brought different results from Iowa’s.
For the Democrats, Clinton finished first with 39 percent of the vote, Obama finished second with 36 and Edwards followed with 16. On the Republican side, McCain won the primary with 37 percent. He was followed by Romney and then Huckabee.
“I don’t put much emphasis on these early contests in Iowa and New Hampshire,” Dawkins said. “They are a big national distraction that creates sensational media coverage. The primary system needs to change.”
Rock the voteAccording to Dawkins, the College Republicans plan to hold events to inform students about the candidates between now and November — including hosting a candidate panel on Jan. 31 where members of the club will study up on the Republican candidates and answer questions about candidates and campaign issues; a Super Tuesday-watching party Feb. 5; and a voter registration concert on Harris Field.
“To be a successful, this nation needs a reasonable and sensible plan of action to ensure that we remain strong,” Dawkins said. “We need to find out what this country needs and then find a candidate who can deliver those needs.”
According to Ilsley, the College Dems are gearing up for the election year by hosting primary parties and holding voter registrations in the Brickyard. They also plan on hosting Jim Neal, a candidate for the U.S. Senate, Jan. 16.
“This election will be very pivotal for the nation,” Ilsley said. “It is important that people get out and vote.”
