By Jesse Saunders Photo editor
With the first official primary complete, the races on both sides have seen some unexpected casualties. While the Republicans are still dealing with an overcrowded debate stage every other week, the Democrats are facing a different kind of problem all together with the suspension of Martin O’Malley’s campaign. Claims of bias, accusations of sexism, the biggest small donor’s campaign ever run and the closest Iowa Democratic caucus ever recorded have all made the Democratic Party anything but calm. With only 0.2 percent separating them after a recount, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have set themselves up for a very heated primary.
This past week has seen the two Democratic candidates finally break their unspoken truce and start to provoke each other. Clinton’s campaign has radically shifted its plan of attack toward Sanders after Iowa, where his underdog near-win has given her cause to sweat. Sanders is continuing to push young voters to get out and participate, one of the things that helped him achieve what he called a “virtual tie” in Iowa. Clinton, still the technical winner of the state, is now working hard at securing her lead in other states.
The real question that came out of the Iowa caucus had less to do with plethora of candidates, and more to do with the process itself. Voting in the United States is expected of any eligible citizen, but many are confused about the standard voting process, let alone the insanity that is a caucus. With more laws popping up that discourage voters across the country, voting needs to be simplified, not overcomplicated.
The caucus allows for uncertainty, and a lot of grey areas that are not needed. From accusations of lying to voters, to winners being decided by a coin toss, Iowa seems more like a myth to voters than an integral part of the political system. This election is dependent upon the groups of voters who are unfortunately very underrepresented, and with the current set up that will continue to be a struggle.
The Republicans had an entirely different sort of caucus, with once front runner Donald Trump not only losing to Ted Cruz, but also being extremely close in the polls to the rising Marco Rubio. Losing only two candidates after this primary, the Republican race still has no clear winner, or as Donald Trump likes to call them, losers. Although Donald Trump dominates the social spectrum, he has yet to actually have the power to win the votes. Republicans will continue to suffer during this primary from not getting a real chance to meet their possible presidential candidate, while Democrats gear up for a giant feud between their two candidates in the upcoming months. Don’t blink, because you don’t want to miss it.
Jesse Saunders is the President of the Democrats of Hofstra University.