Meet Your 2016 Presidential Candidates

Giselle Enriquez, Editor-In-Chief

FILE - In this Oct. 18, 2011, file photo, then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton works from a desk inside a C-17 military plane upon her departure from Malta, in the Mediterranean Sea, bound for Tripoli, Libya. Clinton has joined Twitter, describing herself as a "pantsuit aficionado" and a "hair icon." The potential 2016 presidential candidate's profile page shows the infamous photo of the stern-looking Clinton wearing dark sunglasses and reading her Blackberry. (AP Photo / Kevin Lamarque, Pool, File)

Name: Hillary Clinton

Party: Democrat

  • Former Secretary of State, U.S. Senator and First lady
  • Economy: Create good-paying jobs and get pay rising by investing in infrastructure, clean energy, and scientific and medical research to strengthen our economy and growth.
  • Climate Change: An urgent threat. National goals to have 500 million solar panels installed; and generate enough renewable energy to power every home in America to cut energy waste.
  • Entitlements: Fight any effort to privatize or weaken Medicare and Social Security.
  • Gun Control: Strengthen background checks and keep guns out of the hands of terrorists, domestic abusers, severely mentally ill, and violent criminals.
  • Immigration and Refugees: Give undocumented residents a path to legal status.
  • Obamacare: A.K.A. Affordable Care Act, build on it to slow the growth of out-of-pocket costs.
  • Social Issues: Abortion should be legal and so should same-sex marriage.
  • Fun Facts:
    • Wanted to be an astronaut as a child
    • Won a Grammy for her audiobook, “It Takes a Village”
    • Born on Oct. 26, 1947

bernie

Name: Bernie Sanders

Party: Democrat

  • U.S. Senator from Vermont
  • Economy: Demanding that the wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share in taxes. Increasing the federal minimum wage and putting at least 13 million Americans to work.
  • Climate Change: Charge companies for carbon emissions. Considers climate change a significant threat and caused by human activity.
  • Entitlements: Medicare for all. Must strengthen and expand Social Security by having the rich pay their fair share.
  • Gun Control: Ban assault weapons. Repeal law protecting some manufacturers. No federal handgun waiting period.
  • Immigration and Refugees: Offer path to citizenship. Increase border security. Waive some deportations now.
  • Obamacare: Believes act did not go far enough. Wants to launch universal, government-provided health care.
  • Social Issues: Fighting for LGBT equality and women’s rights.
  • Fun Facts:
    • Recorded folk songs including a rendition of “This Land is Your Land”
    • Spent six months after college living on a Kibbutz in Israel
    • Born on Sept. 8, 1941

tedcruz

Name: Ted Cruz

Party: Republican

  • U.S. Senator from Texas
  • Economy: Demand a balanced budget. Supports a constitutional amendment mandating that Congress pass a balanced budget.
  • Climate Change: Says climate change is not science, but religion.
  • Entitlements: Preserve and strengthen Social Security. For seniors, Social Security and Medicare should remain the same. For younger workers we should gradually increase the retirement age and change the rate in growth benefits.
  • Gun Control: Opposes unreasonable and burdensome gun restrictions. He says he will never support banning guns, ever.
  • Immigration and Refugees: Block any current effort that lets undocumented immigrants legally remain in the U.S. Secure the border.
  • Obamacare: Repeal It.
  • Social Issues: Marriage should be between a man and a woman. States should be allowed to define, “marriage.” Abortion should have no strict limits.
  • Fun Facts:
    • Considered dropping out of school to pursue an acting career
    • Born in Canada, but formally renounced his Canadian citizenship in 2013
    • Born on Dec. 22, 1970

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 16: Business mogul Donald Trump gives a speech as he announces his candidacy for the U.S. presidency at Trump Tower on June 16, 2015 in New York City. Trump is the 12th Republican who has announced running for the White House. (Photo by Christopher Gregory/Getty Images)

Name: Donald Trump

Party: Republican

  • Real estate mogul and former reality television star
  • Economy: Government must cut spending more. Congress must reduce spending further to avoid increases in the deficit.
  • Climate Change: It ain’t real. Trump believes global warming was created by the Chinese to further surprise the U.S. economy.
  • Entitlements: Do not cut Social Security or Medicare benefits. Economic growth would help salvage these programs.
  • Gun Control: Generally opposes gun control, and wants to limit restrictions on guns. He believes guns are necessary for self defense. Wants to ban some assault weapons and extend the waiting period for purchase.
  • Immigration and Refugees: Deport all undocumented individuals. Freeze green cards. Temporarily, ban all Muslims from coming in the U.S. Wants to establish a “Deportation force” and build a “huge” wall at the Mexican border.
  • Obamacare: Get rid of it. Replace it.
  • Social Issues: Marriage should be between a man and a woman, and should be defined state by state. Abortion should be abolished.
  • Fun Facts:
    • Has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
    • Avid golfer and golf course owner
    • Born on June 14, 1946

kasich

 Name: John Kasich

Party: Republican

  • Governor Of Ohio
  • Economy: Freeze all federal regulations for one year, except for health and safety. Tax cuts, from corporations and individuals.
  • Climate Change: Climate Change is real. States and private companies should work to contain carbon output from coal-burning power plants.
  • Entitlements: Fix Social Security by lowering benefits.
  • Gun Control: More parenting better than more gun laws. Opposes restrictions to the right to bear arms and voted yes on decreasing the gun waiting period from 3 days to 1.
  • Immigration and Refugees: Allow undocumented immigrants to stay in the country legally. A path to citizenship is not preferable but may be part of the compromise.
  • Obamacare: Only supports the Medicaid expansion in the Affordable Care Act. Other than that, wants to repeal and replace the rest of the act.
  • Social Issues: Believes in traditional marriage, but “the court has ruled and we should move on.” Ban abortions after 20 weeks, with the exception if the mother’s life is in danger.
  • Fun Facts:
    • Former Fox News host
    • Considered becoming a priest
    • Born on May 13, 1952