We all know that there will be a presidential election in 2016. For the Republicans, it is essential that our party wins in order to improve our nation. There are a lot of great candidates in the race (15 of them, to be exact).

To start off, the most popular candidate for the 2016 election, currently, is Donald Trump. A large reason that he is in the lead is because there are 15 other Republican candidates splitting the vote. A large number of his comments on topics like immigration strike many people, including the majority of Republicans, as highly offensive. Despite that, many others believe that our country needs a man like Mr. Trump who is not afraid to say what he thinks and act with conviction.

In second place in the running is Dr. Ben Carson. Carson is an African-American neurosurgeon who was the first to successfully separate conjoined twins.

Jeb Bush, the brother of George W. Bush and son of George H.W. Bush, is another top-tier candidate.

He is the former governor of Florida and is known for his moderate stances on immigration and the Common Core Standards.

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is probably the most far-right candidate fighting for the nomination. Cruz is liked by many conservatives because of his attempt in 2013 to defund Obamacare, leading to a temporary government shutdown.

Senator Marco Rubio from Florida is also polling in the top five. He is one of two Latinos in the race on the Republican side.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker had neared the top of the polls before his popularity dropped, forcing him to bow out. He has won three statewide elections in his time as governor, in a state that Obama won twice.

To round out the list of top candidates, we finish with Carly Fiorina and Chris Christie. Fiorina is the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HP) and is known for criticizing Hillary Clinton for being against women. Chris Christie has been the Governor of New Jersey since 2012. Just two years ago, he had the highest approval rating of any politician in the country, supported by Republicans and Democrats.

For many people, it is surprising that Trump is atop the polls, but many Republicans are getting frustrated with him. Due to that, Carson, Rubio, Fiorina, and Cruz are rising quickly. In the latest debate, Sept. 16, Fiorina, Rubio and Christie stood out with strong performances. With such strong candidates, our party believes we will take the White House in 2016.

Republicans are also excited to have Congressman Reid Ribble and U.S. Senator Ron Johnson campaigning again in November 2016. Senator Johnson, a conservative reformer and chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Senate Committee, will most likely face off against former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold.

Our party looks forward to educating and preparing constituents for the election next fall. We hope that all North students register once they turn 18! On to 2016!