Applications for president now open: zero years political experience required

Any job, even at the entry level, seems to now require five years minimum of experience. And yet, in the race to fill America’s highest office, voters shun experienced politicians now more than ever. The term “career politician” carries the connotation of a power-hungry, wealthy individual who treats politics like a business and cozies up to big corporations. Particularly in the Republican Party, from the start of the race, voters were looking for a candidate completely separated from politics.

At the start of the race for the presidency, spectators of the chaos that was the Republican debates noted the rise of popularity of candidates like Donald Trump, Ben Carso, and after the first debate, Carly Fiorina. Carly Fiorina is a former CEO of a Fortune 20 company, Ben Carson is a neurosurgeon and Donald Trump is…Donald Trump. Donald Trump is a baffling candidate for a multitude of reasons. Most people (prior to his campaign) knew him only from his television show “Celebrity Apprentice,” where he was infamous for firing people. He has a multitude of buildings scattered across America with his name emblazoned across them, most notably in Chicago where he and Mayor Rahm Emanuel had a brief spat when Emanuel spoke out against the “TRUMP” sign on the Trump Tower. Donald Trump is not filtered, and he is not considerate of others’ opinions. Most bafflingly, Donald Trump’s popularity has been constant throughout his entire campaign while both Ben Carson’s and Carly Fiorina’s popularity have drastically fallen.

When Donald Trump announced his candidacy, many refused to believe that he was serious. The Huffington Post even chose to cover his candidacy in its entertainment section. As it dawned on people that Donald Trump was here to stay, it became clear how much republican voters yearned for an outsider—even when their choice candidate was sometimes hard to distinguish from a “racist sandwich” in a game played by the Daily Show called “Who said it? Donald Trump or Racist Sandwich?”. It seems bizarre, even political affiliations aside, to consider Donald Trump as a candidate simply because he stands against so much that people dislike from a political candidate; as a businessman, after tanking a good deal of his companies, he still managed to collect enormous sums of money from them through bailouts and third and fourth mortgages.

Perhaps Republican voters are more concerned about Donald Trump actually representing them than they are supporters of his ideas. Despite consistently high ratings in Iowa, Trump came in second to Ted Cruz and barely finished ahead of Marco Rubio.In New Hampshire, Donald Trump is holding a strong lead but Marco Rubio’s support is surging. Taking a look back at the Iowa Caucuses, it is plausible that despite Donald Trump’s high polling numbers, the actual voter turnout in his favor may be much lower. If Trump continues to fall in the primaries and Cruz maintains his lead, it is plausible that history will repeat itself. Especially considering Rubio’s increased support as of late, he has a strong chance of finishing second in the primaries (and Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bob Dole, John McCain and Mitt Romney all won the presidential nomination after finishing second in the primaries). Perhaps Republicans don’t actually need such an outsider candidate—the Republican voter revolution may not be coming after all.