With the 2016 presidential election season starting, it's important to read up on the candidates to pick which correlates most with your beliefs, and to then vote for who you believe would make the best president. For most people, this is boring and tedious. Luckily for you, I've done (some of) the research and have compiled a list of some of the front-running candidates, determined by Real Clear Politics, and a few of their ideals with which they side.

Democrat

Hillary Clinton*- https://www.hillaryclinton.com
Clinton believes in reining in the idea that anyone can have a gun anywhere at any time. She says the government must do more to get generic drugs and low-cost drugs to people who are suffering. Finally, she believes in balancing lower military and higher diplomacy budget. This is relevant information to college students because many of us know people these apply to, and can potentially benefit us in the future.

Bernie Sanders- https://berniesanders.com/

Sanders advocates reducing income and wealth inequality by raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020. He believes in demilitarizing police forces so they don't look and act like invading armies. He would also like to sign comprehensive immigration reform laws to bring over 11 million undocumented workers out of the shadows. Many college students work minimum wage jobs, so a little extra money in each paycheck could go toward our textbooks or tuition (gross).

Joe Biden**- https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/vice-president-biden

Biden believes police and communities must respect each other. He also believes marijuana is a gateway drug and legalization is a mistake. Setting out a vision for young people to deal with global warming is something Biden would like to accomplish. The future of not only our country, but also our world can be affected by global warming, and we are the ones who can work to slow it.

Martin O'Malley- https://martinomalley.com

O’Malley advocates making higher education more affordable, accessible, and accountable for all Americans. Expanding social security is also one of his goals, so Americans can retire with dignity. He would also like to transition to renewable energy and end our reliance on fossil fuels. As college students, affordable higher education directly impacts us!

Jim Webb- https://www.webb2016.com

Webb would like to reconfigure the tax code so taxes fall in a fair way. Honoring our treaty commitments is one of his beliefs, and finding a way to return to good governance is amongst his list of goals in his campaign. Plenty of people are complaining about how our government is run, and this could potentially help solve the issue.

Republican

Donald Trump*- https://www.donaldjtrump.com

Trump believes in limiting new immigration and focusing on people already here. He also advocates banning late abortions, with exceptions for rape, incest or health. He would like to legalize drugs and use tax revenue to fund drug education.He is focused on making America great again, and these ideals could potentially do so.

Jeb Bush*- https://jeb2016.com/?lang=en

Bush would like to fund adoption counseling. He respects civil unions and same-sex lifetime commitments. Finally, he advocates pushing back the retirement age to 68 or 70. These are all topics that could directly affect most people's day-to-day lives and should be noted.

Ben Carson- https://www.bencarson.com

Carson is pro-life, so that innocent lives are protected. He believes in ratifying a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution. He also stands by Israel since we were the first nation to recognize her creation. All of these issues are popular in the news right now, and should be focused on by all of us to make the right decision.

Scott Walker*- https://www.scottwalker.com

Walker advocates banning abortion after 20 weeks on both the state and federal level. He believes U.S. troops should fight ISIS alongside Kurds and Sunnis. Securing the border and enforcing the legal immigration system is another item on his agenda to address. Similarly to Carson, these issues are important, and these decisions will potentially greatly affect our lives post-college.

Marco Rubio- https://marcorubio.com

Rubio believes in reforming our tax code, controlling spending, modernizing our immigration laws, and repealing and replacing ObamaCare, to create millions of better-paying modern jobs. Eliminating government-imposed barriers to energy production and economic growth is another topic he would address. Finally, he advocates standing against the Iranian regime and unless Israel is recognized, there cannot be a nuclear deal. Reforming tax code could lower taxes, and would be beneficial to most, if not all people.

*Information found was from http://www.ontheissues.org/2016_Hopefuls.htm, not their personal websites.

**Joe Biden has not declared he is running, yet he is still at the top of the polls. Information on him was found at http://www.ontheissues.org/Joe_Biden.htm

Once again, this is only the top five candidates from each party, and only a few of the issues and what they believe. To obtain a better understanding, their personal websites are linked next to their names if you are interested. The topics listed are important to become familiar with because if they don't directly affect your life now, it will in the future, so it is necessary to become educated on these issues and what you think the best course of action is. May the best candidate win!