Democrats stake their claim for the White House

The 2016 Democratic race for presidency is heating up with Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton leading the charge.

With only four candidates remaining, after former United States Senator, Jim Webb, and former Gov. of Rhode Island, Lincoln Chafee, both withdrawing their nominations, candidates Sanders, Clinton, attorney and political activist, Lester Lawrence Lessig, and former Gov. of Maryland, Martin O’Malley, are all vying for key votes before the 2016 Democratic primaries. However, getting to the primaries may prove to be an easier task for some than others.

While Sanders and Clinton equally had a strong showing at the first Democratic debate, hosted on CNN on Oct. 13, both Lessig and O’Malley have had to fight for relevancy.

According to The New York Times, despite raising more than $1 million for his campaign, Lessig, 54, was excluded from the first debate entirely, after suffering weak poll numbers. The current Harvard Law School professor also failed to secure a crucial invitation to Iowa’s annual Democratic Jefferson-Jackson fundraiser dinner on Oct. 25, as well, as his bid for president has run in near obscurity.

Linda Carl, a junior political science major from Clinton, Miss., believes Lessig’s chances of winning the Democratic nomination are scarce.

“When you get into a race like this, you have to be willing to put yourself out there,” said Carl. “I honestly forgot he was even running. You can’t expect to be president by purposely falling behind.”

Still, Lessig’s singular focus on overhauling the presidential campaign system has managed to grab Dexter Dent’s, a senior graphic design major, from Magnolia, Miss., attention on the issue.

“It’s important to know where our money is going if we’re going to be supporting these people,” said Dent. “He just has to be louder, make his voice more heard, because he has a great message.”

O’Malley, 52, has also struggled to keep up with the stringent pace of the Democratic race for presidency. RealClearPolitics.com currently places O’Malley third behind Sanders and Clinton, with just a 0.8 average. This does not mean that O’Malley is giving up without a fight, however.

Touting support from voters on the issues of gun control, members of the LGBTQ community for his progressive stance on gay rights, and even earning favoritism from both Democratic and GOP voters, after calling out Clinton on her rotating views on the death penalty, O’Malley’s brazen words have gained him support from the likes of Jordan McKee, a senior business administration major from Olive Branch, Miss., who feels O’Malley’s bold approach is refreshing to see from a Democratic candidate.

“I like Mr. O’Malley,” said McKee. “I like how he’s not afraid to go there with people, whether it’s the GOP or a member of his own party. I’ve become a fan.”

Still, Regine Edwards-Bowler, a freshman English major, from Pensacola, Fla., feels O’Malley’s campaign, similar to Lessig’s, has not done enough to garner her attention.

“I don’t know him,” said Edwards-Bowler. “You know Clinton and Sanders, but I don’t know anything about him. I can’t vote for somebody I didn’t even know was running.”

Senator Sanders on the other hand hopes to ride his political high straight into the White House. The 74-year old Brooklyn, N.Y. native has been a force to reckon with in American politics for more than half a century, and hopes to take his no-nonsense approach to politics to the highest political office in the country.

Representing Vermont, Senator Sanders, a self-described Democratic Socialist, known as a leading progressive voice on pressing issues such as income inequality, universal healthcare, climate change, and LGBTQ rights, has found success in the polls.

According to RealClearPolitics.com, Senator Sanders currently places second behind Clinton, with a 27.0 average. While recently spending a reported $2 million on his first television ad in the key swing-state of Iowa, Senator Sanders media efforts have grabbed the attention of Jackson State students, such as Travis Johnson, a senior electrical engineering major from Holly Springs, Miss.

“He has a lot of potential to be a good president,” said Johnson. “However, he has to have a lot of people supporting him.”

Other students, such as freshman computer science major, Jonathan Chatman, from Gautier, Miss., have their doubts about Senator Sanders, especially when it comes to finance reform.

“I don’t know much about [Sanders],” said Chatman. “But from what I can tell, he isn’t that good at economics.”

Senator Sanders not only has to worry about both Lessig and O’Malley making a resurgence in the Democratic polls, but he also has to contest his biggest competitor, former Secretary of State, senator, and former first lady, Clinton.

Clinton, 68, who announced her bid for president on April 12, in a campaign video called, “Getting Started,” remains at the top of the Democratic pack, with RealClearPolitics.com placing her first amongst peers Senator Sanders, O’Malley, and the uncharted Lessig, with a 48.8 average. A recent CNN poll also placed Clinton up 45-29 over Senator Sanders, a three-point increase from the previous CNN survey based on the same criteria.

Along with winning the recent Democratic debate, Clinton’s other major accomplishments, including the establishment of the Clinton Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of citizens globally, through wellness, education, and providing economic assistance, has endeared her to the likes of Chantay Evans, a psychology major from Chicago, Ill.

“I support Hillary Clinton. I think she is for equality,” said Evans. “She has accomplished a lot and now that we have a black president, it’s time we have a woman as president.”

Martha Jones, a Jackson native and a communicative disorders major, echoes Evans’ sentiments, feeling Clinton is a role-model for the women throughout the country.

“I believe it is a very tremendous thing that Hillary Clinton is running for president,” said Jones. “She is giving a confidence boost to women and young girls around America that all dreams and goals are possible.’’

Despite current Vice President, Joe Biden, choosing not to run for president in 2016, however, Atisha Myles, an art major from Vicksburg, Miss., believes that the Democratic fight for the presidential nomination is only just now beginning.

“We’ve got another debate,” said Myles. “If anything, I think things will only get more interesting from here.”

The following story was completed by students in the Mass Communication Introduction to News Reporting class. Contributors included: Kennede Banks, Kristen Blanks, Aniecia Brewster, Eldria Coleman, Jordan Darensbourg, Sydney Forbes, Jarvis Generette, Sharyla Gordon, Robert Johnson, Breanna Stewart and Razedrick Winters.