Republican Candidates:
Career: Romney served as Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007, and is also the founder of Bain Capital, a money management firm.
His thoughts on…
Same-sex marriage- In December, Romney stated that he opposed same-sex marriage, but favored gay rights.
Education- Romney believes that teachers must be held accountable for their student’s success. He has stated that he would institute merit scholarships for students in high school and would continue to support the No Child Left Behind Act.
Jobs- Romney has proposed Day One, Job One—his plan to stimulate economic growth by getting the “US government out of the economy’s way”.
Social Security- Romney plans to balance Social Security by encouraging people to invest in personal accounts and by changing the retirement age.
Career: Gingrich pursued his passion for history as a professor at West Georgia College, served as Speaker of the House from 1995 to 1999, and now writes historical fiction books.
His thoughts on…
Same-sex marriage- “It’s pretty simple: marriage is between a man and a woman.”
Education- One of Gingrich’s specific plans is to enforce a competitive arena in education through which educators compete for funds and teaching jobs.
Jobs- Gingrich unrolled his Jobs and Growth Plan, which aims to stop tax increases in order to promote economic growth.
Social Security- Gingrich aims to establish personal Social Security savings accounts for citizens.
Career: Santorum graduated with a law degree and practiced as a lawyer for several years before he became a Pennsylvania senator. Now he contributes his views to Fox News and his own talk radio show.
His thoughts on…
Same-sex marriage- Santorum strongly opposes gay marriage and publicly compared it to polygamy at a speaking engagement in New Hampshire.
Education- “Parents are responsible for educating their children.”
Jobs- Believes that making goods in America, and bringing back middle-class manufacturing jobs is the key to America’s sustained economic growth.
Social Security- Supports major cuts to Social Security benefits.
Career: Paul is an obstetrician and gynecologist. In addition, he has been a congressman for 12 terms, winning his last term in 2010.
His thoughts on…
Same-sex marriage- Paul does not believe the federal government should pass legislation to define what marriage is or isn’t.
Education- Supports elimination of the Department of Education
Jobs- Paul sees the reduction of the size of the federal government and the balancing of the federal budget as the only way to grow economically. He claims that his plan will create 11.5 million jobs.
Social Security- Paul believes Social Security is unconstitutional; therefore, he has no support for it.
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Democrat Candidate:
Career: Obama taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago, served as an Illinois and US senator, and is currently the President of the United States.
His thoughts on …
Same-sex marriage- Was against it, but now his position is “evolving” as he looks toward reelection in 2012.
Education- Obama administration established “Educate to Innovate”, which focuses on the importance of teaching student’s math and science.
Jobs- In his, State of the Union address Obama shared plans to make mortgage refinancing more accessible in an effort to boost the economy.
Social Security- Strongly opposes the privatization and personalization of Social Security.
UPDATE: On Tuesday, January 31, the Republican primary in Florida was held. A primary is a preliminary election that is held to decide who will be the one Republican presidential nominee. Over the next several months, each state will hold a primary election. In Florida’s primary, Mitt Romney received 46.4% of the votes, Newt Gingrich received 31.9%, Rick Santorum received 13.3%, Ron Paul received 7%, and other parties received 1.3% of the votes.