With the presidential election heating up this year, we asked people at PR what their opinions of the candidates were. In Prairie Ridge, there is a mix of Democrats and Republicans with different views on subjects affecting our teenage lives and our country’s future.

Which candidate will receive the party nomination? (Vote for 1 Republican and 1 Democrat.)

• Bernie Sanders (D) (29%, 29 Votes)
• Donald Trump (R) (26%, 26 Votes)
• Hillary Clinton (D) (18%, 18 Votes)
• Ted Cruz (R) (11%, 11 Votes)
• John Kasich (R) (10%, 10 Votes)
• Marco Rubio (R) (6%, 6 Votes)

Total Voters: 70

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One presidential candidate that has gained lots of attention throughout his campaign is Donald Trump.He has sparked the attention of many  voters through his speeches and ideas. Mrs. Stantesly, sophomore Honors Chemistry teacher, mentioned that she believes that Donald Trump is brave for having ideas and going through with them. However, she does not believe that his ideas are the best for the United States.

One sophomore named Carter Collins, added that although she didn’t know much about politics, she knows that she would not like to see Trump as the president of America.

Sophomore Emily Jepsen contributed as well. “I don’t know if Trump’s ideas are completely true to the morals America was created by,” Emily explains, “That’s why I wouldn’t want to see him as the leader of our country. He’s too arrogant for my liking.”

John Williams, PR senior, supports Marco Rubio for the Republican nomination. He predicts that our country will see “‘Marcomentum’ … gain traction” in the next couple months because Rubio is “a man grounded in principle” with “well thought-out ideas toward the issues of the day.”

On the other side of the aisle, sophomore, Katie Frey explained her interest in the Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders. “He’s doing things that can benefit the youth of America. He’s trying to make college free which could really help me out in the future if I don’t have student debt as an issue.”

A junior, Meara McNamara doesn’t support Bernie Sanders. “A lot of his ideas seem to not be easily achievable. It will be very difficult to raise a higher minimum wage and make college free. His plans come with lots of flaws.” Meara is rooting for Ted Cruz to succeed in the election.

Another supporter of Ted Cruz is senior Peter Rykowski. “I like Ted Cruz, and I support him because he’s a conservative candidate. I think he’ll do what he says,” Peter added he believes Cruz will “be the only candidate that will make a positive impact on our country.”  

Some mentioned Hillary Clinton and how they would like to see a woman as a president.

Sophomore Carlie Highfill cares about women’s rights and loves the idea of a woman president. She believes if Hillary is president, Clinton will shine light on topics that will help equalize men and women.

English teacher Mrs. Pham mentioned it was a very interesting campaign because we are seeing so many people who share such contrasting beliefs. “Most campaigns there are more moderate candidates, but this year there is a wide range of very liberal to very conservative,” she stated.

All in all PR holds supporters from all over the spectrum and it will be interesting to see how things play out for this election. Feel free to use the comments to express your ideas of who you are interested in seeing as the next president!