| |
| author |
Michelle M. Nestor
| | title |
U.S. Presidential Nominations: Outsiders in the 2016 Election
| | abstract |
Presidential nominees from each major American political party endure a long and
complex primary election. In our current system, campaign strategy often takes precedence over
political ideology and experience. This notion allows outsiders to be successful, exemplified by
Populist Donald Trump winning the 2016 Republican Nomination and Independent Bernie
Sanders nearly securing the 2016 Democratic Nomination. This paper studies the changes in the
Presidential Nomination process from 1968 to 2016, which set out to remove power from the
major parties and deliver it to the people. Superdelegates, frontloading, debates and the media
emerge as changes that have altered the process in order to allow political outsiders to be
successful. Together, these key facets work toward establishing a system where parties are less
powerful and the general population has more authority within the nomination process. After
analyzing the effects of frontloading, superdelegates, debates and the media on the 2016 election,
it is clear that the current system provides opportunity for outside candidates to perform well in
the nomination process. Donald Trump secured the nomination of the Republican party while
Bernie Sanders was a strong competitor for the Democratic nomination. With two strong
campaigns from political outsiders, it is evident that political parties no longer dominate the
process. The primary election has become a strong component of American democracy.
| | school |
The College of Liberal Arts, Drew University
| | degree |
B.A. (2020)
|
| advisor |
Philip Mundo
|
| full text | MMNestor.pdf |
| |
