This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Wake Forest chapter.

With the 2016 presidential elections quickly gaining momentum, it can be easy to see each of the candidates as just another politician attempting to win votes. While this is somewhat true, the candidates all differ in their own ways; here is a quick snapshot of the top candidates and their strongest political ideas.

On the Democratic Side…

Hillary Clinton: Former Secretary of State

Immigration: Clinton supports comprehensive immigration reform – in simpler terms, granting eventual legal status to undocumented immigrants.
Healthcare: Clinton supports Obamacare and efforts to strengthen the new law.
Social Issues: Clinton outwardly supports the legalization of both gay marriage and abortion.
Foreign Policy: Clinton has openly supported the Iran Nuclear Deal, and has called for increased diplomacy with Iran; likewise, she is against sending American troops to fight against the Islamic State.

Bernie Sanders: Independent Vermont Senator

Environment: Sanders is considered a “climate change hawk” and supports charging companies for their carbon emissions.
Healthcare: Sanders fully supports changing our current healthcare system to healthcare provided entirely from the government, a move that goes a step farther than Obamacare.
Fiscal Issues: Regarding taxes, Sanders promotes increased taxes on the wealthy in order to cut taxes for the middle class. He also supports breaking up big banks and making the Federal Reserve (the central bank of the U.S.) more transparent and reliable.
Foreign Policy: Sanders opposes the Iraq War and calls for withdrawing troops from the Middle East. He also supports increased diplomacy efforts with Iran.

Martin O’Malley: Former Maryland Governor

Immigration: O’Malley supports a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants and allowing undocumented students to pay in-state tuition to public universities.
Fiscal Issues: O’Malley promotes increased taxes in order to fund government spending, an increased minimum wage, and the strengthening of unions.
Gun Control: Perhaps his most well known endeavor – O’Malley supports increased gun control, specifically the ban of assault weapons and requiring fingerprints to purchase a handgun.

Lincoln Chafee: Former Rhode Island Governor

NSA: Differing from his Democratic counterparts, Chafee believes the government should have limited civilian surveillance.
Foreign Policy: Chafee denounces the invasion of Iraq and instead supports building closer alliances with foreign powers. Regarding Iran, Chafee supports increased negation efforts.
Social Issues: Chafee supports access to abortion and the legalization of gay marriage. He also has a strong stance on decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana and moving towards legalization.

Overall, the democratic race is less competitive than the Republican race, as there are simply less top contenders. The two candidates to watch out for are Clinton and Sanders, as they are the projected frontrunners.

On the Republican Side…

Jeb Bush: Former Florida Governor

Immigration: Bush supports a short-term legal status for undocumented immigrants in the United States but does not support a path to citizenship.
Healthcare: Bush criticizes Obamacare and is pushing to replace it with a “market oriented” alternative, namely one wherein the private sector is more involved.
Foreign Policy: Bush supports strengthening ties with Israel, stopping the Iran Nuclear Deal, and defeating the Islamic State with American soldiers. He is considering placing American troops in Russia.

Marco Rubio: Florida Senator

Environment: As one of the only Republicans to support efforts in curbing climate change, Rubio supports the idea that climate change is a danger, but denies that it is caused by humans.
Immigration: Rubio favors immigration reform to stop the flow of illegal immigrants across the border. As the son of Cuban immigrant parents, however, Rubio is against normalizing relations with Cuba.
Foreign Policy: He supports toughening sanctions and scrapping the nuclear bill with Iran; as for the Islamic State, Rubio promotes increased executive influence over combat in that region.
Taxes: Being pro-business, Rubio favors cutting the corporate tax to 25% and simplifying the tax code for individual taxpayers.

Donald Trump: Real Estate Mogul

Immigration: Perhaps his most out-spoken topic – Trump promotes closing the border, and does not offer a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
Taxes: Trump suggests ending all corporate taxes and lowering individual tax rates; to combat the loss in revenue, he proposes a decrease in government spending.
Foreign Policy: Trump is strongly against the Iran Nuclear Deal and proposes increasing sanctions against Iran to help our Israeli ally. As a way to combat the Islamic State, Trump intends to send a limited number of troops into the region.

Ben Carson: Retired Neurosurgeon

Taxes: Carson intends to move towards a flat tax wherein each taxpayer pays the same rate. He also aims to abolish the IRS, as a flat tax would make the organization unnecessary.
Social Issues: Though he believes marriage is between a man and a woman, Carson accepts same-sex marriage as the law of the land. He also supports banning abortions after 20 weeks. One of the only Republicans with this stance, Carson believes there are some benefits to the legalization of marijuana.
Foreign Policy: Carson believes the United States should be loyal to its Israeli ally, and that Congress should take part in the Iran Nuclear Deal. He also intends to increase military effort to defeat the Islamic State.

Carly Fiorina: Former CEO

Environment: Differing from other Republicans, Fiorina suggests climate change is real, man-made, and can be controlled by government efforts.
Social Issues: Fiorina believes the Supreme Court was wrong in its decision regarding same-sex marriage. Along with others, she believes most abortions should be banned after 20 weeks, She takes her pro-life stance farther as to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Gun Control: Fiorina is an outward supporter of gun rights, believing specifically that assault weapons should not be banned.
Foreign Policy: Fiorina intends to support Israel and cut ties with Iran. She supports arming the Kurds in the Iraqi region in order to defeat the Islamic State.

Although there are 15 declared Republican candidates, the ones discussed are the most favored to win; Donald Trump is the current frontrunner, but other candidates are quickly gaining momentum.

The 2016 election is a historical one, as it features many controversial topics, such as those dealing with the Islamic state, the relationship between the United States and Iran, social issues, the tax code, the budget, and immigration, with a number of candidates all proposing different solutions. Hopefully, this somewhat simple breakdown of the candidates has shed a little light on whom you may decide to support in the upcoming election!

*Cover image from cbsnews.com

Presidential Candidates: A Basic Breakdown