An abundance of bumper stickers, a torrent of campaign slogans, and a hailstorm of heated Twitter battles are just a few of the signs that the presidential candidate selection process is underway. Although general elections are over a year away, 2016 presidential candidates have decided that now is persuasion prime time.

Candidates are trying to convince old and young voters with both “policy and personality,” freshman Charlie Gannon said. This fall, students at St. Paul Academy and Summit School, particularly the seniors, are learning to process frequent presidential press releases and form their own opinions.

The first time that voting students will be able to act on their presidential preferences will be at the Minnesota caucuses in March 2016. Unlike a primary, where citizens simply cast their ballots, a caucus is a local gathering where voters openly decide which candidate to support. Because caucuses attract more hardcore voters, people with a party affiliation are more likely to be involved in the election process at this point. However, the campaigns occurring during the primary elections do not paint a completely accurate presidential portrait.

“The thing that is kinda messed up about the candidates right now is that they are applying far right or left because they are trying to get those ‘crazy’[politically extreme] people to come out and poll for them. To win their own party, they go extremely to the right because they know the people that are loyal to them are gonna stay with them. Then they have to move back to the center to get independents by the general election,” A member of Mike McFadden’s Senate campaign and YMCA Youth in Government, senior Patrick Commers said.

In the general election, people from all parties vote to pick a single president from the candidates provided by caucuses and primaries. With the election timeline featuring campaigns beginning now, caucuses in spring 2016, and general elections in fall 2016, potential voters have a little over a year to decide who they will ultimately vote for. In the meantime, they have to consider what kind of candidate they want as the nation’s next president.

Adhering to party-based politics is one way SPA students sort through the campaigning noise. “I would be affiliated with the Democratic Party and that narrows it down significantly, especially in this election,” senior Netta Kaplan said. In a poll conducted by The Rubicon, one-third of students reported that party took precedence over individual candidate.

Of the poll respondents who favored a Republican candidate, votes were split between Marco Rubio and Ben Carson. In the same poll, 42.5% of respondents disclosed they favor Democrat Bernie Sanders at this point in the campaign over national frontrunner Hillary Clinton, who only polled at about 30%.

Kaplan considers some of the front-running Democrats: “Clinton is a big, known candidate…she’s just kinda running on the Democratic Party, really, all the things that they stand for. On the other hand, Bernie Sanders is definitely running on a more leftist platform, on economic issues specifically. He’s been very popular with young people because his strong opinions about wealth gap and wage gap,” Kaplan said.

Poll respondents listed issues ranging from freedom of marriage to foreign affairs to environmental protection as pivotal to their voting preferences.

Once a student picks a party and pertinent problems, they have to pick a politician who supports more than just their personal opinions, but also has a chance to win for the party. Commers explains, “If you were to look at the three front runners in the Republican Party right now, it would probably be Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and Jeb Bush. I’m not for Donald Trump. In addition, Chuck Todd on NBC was saying Walker or Rubio will be in a good position to win the 2016 election for Republicans. If I had to pick from those, I’d want to pick someone who can win the party and beat someone that is on the other side.” At the time of interview, Commers determined Marco Rubio to hold these winning qualities.

Before a judicious voter can evaluate a presidential contender, they have to hear about all of their voting options. “I love the Snapchat sponsored stories,” Kaplan said, “I felt like the one for the Republican debate was really useful because there were so many candidates.”
Social media also has strong influence on exposure and sentiments toward a specific candidate. “The first social media campaign was in 2008. It has grown since then and I think that 2016 will have all different types of social media firing on all cylinders,” Commers accounts.

Commers explains how nasty social media can become, “especially with various twitter wars that have been going on. This morning it was Donald Trump bashing Bobby Jindal. I also saw some things with Hillary Clinton versus Jeb Bush.”

Social media’s cynical political outlook seems to have infected the SPA community. 55% of students thought that their vote would not make a difference in the general election. “I think elections are mostly a way for the government to let us feel like we have a say in what happens,” said sophomore Sabrina Rucker.

In spite of listlessness regarding the election process, some students reinforce the significance of fulfilling their civic duty. “I think it is very important for everyone to 1) get involved and 2) get educated on the issues…you can’t really complain if you’re old enough to vote, but choose not to vote, ” said Commers.

“I’m already registered to vote. I’m trying to get the whole senior class registered before we graduate,” Commers said, “I would like to get as many students as possible to go to the Minnesota caucuses.”

March 1, 2016 will be an exciting day of election mayhem when twenty-four states hold primary elections and caucuses to get motivated voters to vouch for their favorite candidate.

In preparation for the upcoming events, students can explore their party, issue, and candidate preferences on the website ISideWith.com.