Every four years, the citizens of the United States come together to elect a new president, first through the primaries, and again through the general election. Right now, the election is in the primaries stage and the first two states, New Hampshire and Iowa, have voted. The results of these primary elections typically sets the stage for the rest of the race and the country’s primary votes.

First, it needs to be established that there are two different ways to vote in the primaries: caucuses and individual voting. Caucuses are groups that consist of members from a specific party (i.e. Republican and Democrat). Independent voters do not have a caucus, but, just like anyone else, they are welcome to attend the existing caucuses as long as they register for the party beforehand. Individual primary voting, on the other hand, is when one casts their ballot like they would in the general election or for state representatives. If a state holds a closed primary, citizens can only vote within their party and those registered as “other” may not be able to vote for Democrats or Republicans. In an open primary, independents can cast their ballot for any candidate of any party.

Junior Andrew Delgadillo says, “I can’t imagine Ted Cruz being president because he’s trying too hard to be like Donald Trump and I don’t think he’s conveying his views accurately.”

This year, the Iowa caucus took place on Feb. 1. For the Democratic Party, it was complicated due to the three vote difference between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Bernie Sanders decided this meant they had tied, while Clinton claims she had won. Percentage wise, there was only a 0.3% difference, with Sanders receiving 49.6% of the vote and Clinton receiving 49.9%.  This has led the majority of news stations and citizens to decide they have tied in Iowa, despite Clinton’s slight edge.

“I would like Bernie Sanders to be president because I think he really represents the people and what [they] want from this country. Because I’m not eligible to vote, I feel responsible for encouraging others to,” says junior Maya Jimenez.

The Republican Party did not have any ties, but did have some close calls. Ted Cruz won Iowa with 27.6% of the votes, 3.3% greater than runner-up Donald Trump. Following him, Marco Rubio came in with 23.1% of the votes, only 1.2% short of beating Trump. The lack of a clear winner suggests those states with caucuses may switch between winning candidates.

“I don’t like any [of the candidates]. They’re all awful,” says junior Elijah Crane.

There have been few candidates that have decided to drop out of the race so far. Martin O’Malley, a Democratic candidate, dropped out shortly after the Iowa Caucus, and Republican candidates Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina decided to drop out after the New Hampshire Primaries. Jeb Bush left the race after the South Carolina primaries on Feb. 20.

On Feb. 9, the New Hampshire primaries took place. In the Republican Party, Trump won with 35.1% of votes. This was about 20% higher than his runner up John Kasich, who came in with 15.9% of votes. Following them, Cruz received 11.6% of votes and Jeb Bush only got 11.1%. This clear win for Trump gives some the impression that he may become the Republican presidential candidate in the 2016 election. Despite this, several candidates still remain hopeful and plan on staying in the race until the primary in South Carolina, which is typically considered more diverse than both New Hampshire and Iowa.

The Democratic Party also experienced a clear win, with Sanders receiving 60.0% of the votes. Clinton following behind with only 38.4%, leaving a 21.6% gap between them. This is likely due to the ties Sanders has in New Hampshire, based on the fact that he served in local and state government as both a Mayor and Senator for the state.

Each candidate hopes to qualify for and gain support in the their upcoming debates. The next Republican debate will take place on Feb. 25 on CNN, and the Democratic debate will take place on March 6 on a network to be announced. To see the full debate schedule click here.

Florida’s closed primary will take place on March 15; the registration deadline for the election was Feb. 16. If you are interested in voting in the general election, be sure to register at least 29 days beforehand to meet the registration deadline.