By Bill Lewis
When Donald Trump first announced that he was entering the Republican primaries to run for president, a significant number of voters seemed to feel that he was too controversial to run. However, as the polls show, he has gathered a wide range of support.
He has spoken forcefully about the issues, including his opposition to the Iran nuclear agreement and illegal immigration. He strongly favors better medical treatment for military veterans, and he wants the United States to improve economically from its dealings with foreign countries.
Trump has impressed Republican voters by his successful career in business and finance. He has tremendous name recognition and is articulate in expressing himself. His financial holdings give him a big advantage in the presidential campaign. People admire and respect success.
The last candidate of considerable wealth to run for president was New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller in 1964 when he ran against U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona in the Republican state primaries that year. Goldwater and Rockefeller battled for the Republican nomination. They fought all the way up to the last major primary in California.
It was perceived that Rockefeller would win California since central and northern California usually had liberal voting trends. However, southern California had a conservative trend in several counties. The Goldwater forces put two-thirds of their resources into southern California.
When the election results were known, Rockefeller won central and northern California by a 2-to-1 margin. Goldwater won southern California by a 3-to-1 margin, thereby winning the Republican presidential nomination. Several weeks later at the Republican nominating convention, Rockefeller was first booed when he spoke to the convention delegates.
Trump, unlike Rockefeller, is coming from a conservative base. He expects to do a lot better than Rockefeller. He is building a huge organizational structure in most of the key states.
As indicated, his huge financial resources give him a big advantage over the other 16 candidates. The next few months will give us a good view as to how the campaign is going.
In the Democratic Party, Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders has surprised almost everyone by the support he has been getting. That is especially true of the large crowds that have been attending his political rallies.
In past years, self-described socialist candidates have not done well in presidential races, but 2016 will be a year of surprise. The Democratic Party presidential primaries will be very interesting if Vice President Joseph Biden enters the race against Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
The 2016 race will be a very unusual presidential contest but also one of the most important. The future of our nation will be at stake. All of the races for U.S. Senate, U.S. Congress, and state offices will be affected by the results of our national election process.
There will be a lot of interest in politics during the next year.
