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Republicans on campus speak out about upcoming Ohio primaries

By Kelly Burns, The Miami Student

With the Ohio primaries coming up on March 15, the pool of candidates has become narrower and frontrunners have started to set themselves apart.

Jeb Bush, Chris Christie and Rand Paul are among the presidential hopefuls, out of about a dozen candidates in the race, who have dropped out. The big three remaining are Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump.

First-year Lana Van Til, a self-identified Republican, thinks this year's election is a great example of democracy at work.

"It's a unique year because none of the establishment candidates made it that far," said Van Til. "And that means this election is very much up to the people."

In the most recent CNN polls, Trump is leading, with Rubio securing second and Cruz trailing behind in third. Ben Carson is in fourth with Ohio governor, John Kasich, currently last in the running.

However, Rubio has garnered support among many Republicans at Miami University, according to senior Charlie Meyer, who is the chairman of the College Republicans.

"My own view is that Marco Rubio is the most electable candidate in the Republican field," said Meyer.

In Meyer's opinion, Rubio has the potential to bring in younger and minority voters, which have historically been difficult demographics for the Republican Party to reach. Meyer said this is essential for the future of the conservative movement.

However, some Republicans support frontrunner Trump. The appeal of Trump is that he is a "sound bite candidate." Some of Trump's well-known positions are his anti-immigrant policies and his strong stance on how to deal with the terrorist group, ISIS.

However, first-year Republican, Brianna Minshall is not a fan.

"I think Trump is too radical," Minshall said. "He has a lot of good ideas but he wants to go about them the wrong way."

Several College Republicans also support John Kasich. Members of the organization are involved in grassroots campaigning for the current Ohio governor.

First-year executive board member of the College Republicans, James Oaks, is one of the many College Republicans who support Kasich.

"He is, especially in this presidential race, the most qualified candidate," Oaks said. "He was in Congress for 18 years."

While campaigning in Nashville, Kasich said he will drop out of the race if he does not win Ohio. And some of the Republicans on campus wonder if he will even make it to the Ohio primaries.

"I'm curious to see if Kasich sticks it through to Ohio because, if he loses Ohio, it will be humiliating for him," Van Til said. "If his campaign continues down this trend, he'll probably drop."

Meyer also believes this may be the case.

"Unless John Kasich has a magical turn around, I don't see his path continuing," he said.

In contrast to the widespread opinions of the College Republicans, the College Democrats are more united in their views.

"The Democrats on campus, or at least the ones that I've talked to, all like Bernie," Meyer said.

Keegan Redslob, a first-year Democrat, is one of the Miami students who is "feeling the Bern."

"He's a dedicated politician who isn't taking corporate money and has a proven history of fighting for civil rights," he said.

Redslob went on to comment on the current Republican candidates.

"I think the biggest threat [to the Democratic Party] would be Ted Cruz," he said.

In Redslob's opinion, Cruz' knowledge of the Constitution, team of lawyers and political experience put him in a better position to gain votes in a popular election.

The Republican candidates face off in the Ohio primaries on March 15.