In the midst of exams, essays, and speeches it is easy to push politics to the side and say “my vote doesn’t matter” and as a nineteen-year-old college student I have succumbed to that way of thinking from time to time. That being said, we need to understand that every vote counts, and for this country to truly be “of the people, by the people, and for the people”, we, the people need to be involved in our country’s decision making. Over the next year the nation will be bombarded with ads, commercials and leaflets telling us how to vote, and over the next year, each and every one of us should educate ourselves enough to make that decision for ourselves. For those of you on the fence about getting involved with politics remember the wise words of Senator Michael Enzi, “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu”.

There are currently over twenty candidates who have expressed interest in running in the 2016 election. In the interest of time I chose five candidates that in my opinion have a decent shot at winning or at least having several stories on the news. On the Democratic side are Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, while running for the republican nomination is Jeb Bush, Chris Christie and Donald Trump.

Hillary Clinton is considered by many to be most likely to succeed when it comes to the democratic nomination. She is no stranger to the political spotlight and has years of experience in governing positions. As former first lady, Secretary of State and Senator, Clinton has proved herself as a capable leader time and time again. Additionally Clinton has a well-funded campaign, which announced that it rose over $45 million in its second quarter. Clinton, as stated on the official campaign site, supports an economy that works for the working Americans, tax relief for working families, raising minimum wage and supporting unions. With her resume, money, and popular selling points, she will be a hard candidate to beat.

Next on the list is US Senator Bernie Sanders. Sanders is a current senator and former House Representative from Vermont and the only socialist in congress. Significantly to the left of Clinton, Sanders gets most of his support from young liberals, and as a young liberal myself, I’d love for Sanders to become the next president. That being said I find it highly unlikely. His running points are extremely progressive. He supports Real Family Values such as guaranteed paid sick and maternity/paternity leave, and guaranteed paid vacation. He’s for raising the minimum wage and creating and keeping jobs in the US. He intends to lower income disparity, in an attempt to take Big Money out of politics, and working on climate change and the environment. Despite his wonderful ideas for presidency, the fact that he is a socialist may be a turn off for many Americans.

Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida is running for election in 2016 on the republican ticket. Bush claims to be, as stated on his campaign site, a down to earth, honest family man who’s not afraid of hard work. As the son and brother of two of previous presidents, Bush claims to be just like you. Bush is a conservative on almost every issue except immigration, stating in an interview in August that many illegal immigrants come to the states as an “act of love”. Bush has stated he supports a path for illegal immigrants to become citizens. Many other republicans have criticized Bush for being soft on immigration but Bush remains steadfast to his position.

Among those who have been critical of Bush’s stance on immigration is Governor Chris Christie, a right-wing loud mouth from New Jersey who appeals to the highly conservative. Christie takes pride in being blunt and telling it like it is, and is notorious for making inflammatory comments such as calling a reporter stupid for asking an off topic question in 2012. He also plans to end entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and disability insurance. Although the United States spends more money on our military than any other country in the world, Christie plans to increase National Defense and Intelligence. Christie does have a few redeeming qualities like his plan to make higher education more accessible, though due to his habit of unapologetically offending voters, his chances of winning are low.

Last on the list, and perhaps the most inflammatory of them all is Donald Trump. Trump is a billionaire businessman with no governing experience whatsoever and a knack for insulting women, minorities and the media. Representing the Tea party, Trump comes down hard on immigration issues. He plans on building a wall along the border between Mexico and the U.S. When asked how the wall will be paid for Trump stated that the Mexican government would pay for the entirety of the wall. Trump has said in an interview this August that all illegal immigrants should be deported and birth right citizenship should be ended to put a stop to “anchor babies”. Despite, or maybe because of his constant spew of controversial statements, Trump is currently leading in the polls for the republican nominee. It seems republicans like his abrasive nature and unfortunately he has become a serious candidate in the upcoming election.

In all likelihood one of the aforementioned candidates will be the next president of the United States, a position that holds a great deal of power. What most of us forget is that we hold a great deal of power ourselves. Regardless of our political affiliations we are the people that make up the nation. And if we’re not making the decision then who is?