By Aria Ahmed

The presidential race is one that captures the nation; and this term’s candidates are all vying hard. Both the republican and democratic candidates are taking stands, attacking each other, and trying to get the people on their side. It’s unclear which one will actually succeed.

The democratic primary was blown wide open by Vice President Bidens decision not to run. People that were hoping for him turned to the other two candidates: Vermont senator Bernie Sanders and front runner, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Clinton is still leading Sanders but only time will tell if the continued investigation over her emails will help or hinder. The secrets she’s keeping about Benghazi and her email account are a interesting topic given her bid to enter the White House. Her credibility is up to the people to decide though. Sanders meanwhile has done better than anybody has expected. His rather socialist views and appeals to the younger generation are maintaining his campaigns momentum. The race between the two democrats could still go either way.

The republican field is much more crowded, and personally, more interesting. They have more dynamic albeit controversial candidates. The front runners, billionaire businessman Donald Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson are two rather opposite candidates. Carson speaks slowly and contradicts himself, but he’s an outsider candidate that offers a fresh perspective. Trump meanwhile has a rather elementary vocabulary but is willing to say the hard, blunt truths to the American people that nobody else does. The other much talked about candidates include Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Carly Fiorina. Bush’s campaign is currently struggling but many are hoping the former governor pulls through. His former protege Rubio is seeing a surge due to his win at the last debate. He’s gaining attention and with it the interest of the people translating to support. Cruz too is riding the wave of the debate and holds steady. Fiorina though is getting less press attention but there remains scrutiny over her Hewlett Packard record. It stands to be a rather unflattering record and deservedly so. The republicans have many a candidate to choose from but there’s no clear party favorite.

Overall the race is still going and will continue to make headlines. Everybody is in it to win and are willing to put time, money, and energy behind their campaign. It’s going to be a long, entertaining race to the 2016 election.

Featured Image via CNN