B-matter
Democratic B-matter
Two remaining democrats in the field are Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Sanders is considered more leftist than Clinton and has relied heavily on social justice issues and youth and minority voters thus far in primaries. Hillary is more of an establishment candidate and relies on her experience and “realistic” promises moreso than Sanders.
In terms of Primary results and voter turnout, Clinton holds the edge over Sanders in both. Clinton won seven states on Super Tuesday to Sanders’ four. The two candidates saw a significant decrease in voter turnout compared to eight years ago, when Obama brought nearly 30% more voters to the polls than both Clinton and Sanders combined.
Based on the results of Super Tuesday it looks likely that Clinton will receive the Democratic nomination over Sanders, by a fairly wide margin of both voters and delegates. Many pundits attribute this to Sanders’ highly progressive agenda, which many voters see as too idealistic and extreme to work in American politics. Clinton’s slightly more conservative agenda seems to be working with voters who feel struck and disconcerted by the absurdity of many of the candidates in the entire field.
Historically, the democratic candidate who has performed better on Super Tuesday has gone on to win the nomination and pundits believe this year’s election to be no different. Sources have the odds of Clinton winning the nomination over Sanders at 95%.
March 15th will be the date of four other primaries besides North Carolina. Those states are Illinois, Florida, Ohio, and Missouri.
Republican B-Matter
The Republican field is currently made up of four candidates vying for the G.O.P. nomination: Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich. Currently Donald Trump is leading the Republican field after a strong performance on Super Tuesday, winning seven states conceding only four states to two of the other three candidates. Ted Cruz is currently polling second behind Trump, having won three of the four states not won by Trump. Cruz is followed by Rubio who had only one Super Tuesday victory in Minnesota. Kasich won no states and is expected to terminate his candidacy in the coming weeks.
Trump’s campaign is based on “telling it like it is” and referring to his Business experience as a demonstration of his economic expertise. Trump is mainly supported by undereducated lower class males who find his antics, vulgarity and his position as a political outsider attractive. In the last week, Trump has received an endorsement from New Jersey Governor Chris Christie much to the behest of the Republican Establishment.
Ted Cruz will likely be Trump’s main competitor leading to the Republican Convention after he was significantly closer to Trump’s numbers than either of the other two candidates. Recently, Cruz and Rubio have increased their efforts in knocking Trump from his top atop the podium. In debates and speeches the second and third place candidates are speaking out against Trump criticizing his lack of experience and his outrageous antics.
Republican candidates experienced record voter turnout on Super Tuesday with more than 8.5 million Republican voters voting. This is compared to the 4.7 million voters who voted in the 2012 Primaries in the same 11 states. This is a good sign for the Republicans because it shows these candidates can bring out high volumes of voters.
March 15th will be the date of four other primaries besides North Carolina. Those states are Illinois, Florida, Ohio, and Missouri.
Voter B-matter
North Carolina voting laws have changed significantly since the 2012 election due to the passing of a controversial bill in 2013 that effects many aspects of the North Carolina voting process. The largest effect that the bill will have is on voter ID regulations. Voters will now have to present a very specific form of ID upon entering the polling location. These forms of ID include a valid N.C. Driver’s License, a U.S. Passport or a special Identification card approved by the N.C. Board of Elections.
In 2013 the President of the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP filed a lawsuit against Governor Pat McCrory against voting laws that have curtailed or, in some cases, eliminated voting practices that blacks have disproportionately used. The new voter ID laws that require a more strict and specific form of identification in order to be allowed to vote is thought by many to be an attempt by the Republican Governor to reduce turnout of minority voters and thereby skew the results of elections in favor of Republicans.
There is also a controversy regarding the zoning of voting areas. Two voting areas in particular have come under scrutiny from minority justice seekers. The two areas are zoned in such a way that minorities are grouped together thereby limiting the value of their votes. This is seen as another attempt by the Republican majority that is made up, in large part, of non-minority voters.
These controversies will potentially effect voter turnout and thereby effect the results of the elections specifically in favor of the Republican Party, which is seen by many as the perpetrators of these unjust pieces of legislature.
Leave a Reply