On Super Tuesday, over 2400 democrat residents of Senate District 57 came out to Apple Valley High School. Lines to enter the school were out the front doors and far down the sidewalk. Some people had to wait over an hour to get in.

What was all the hubbub about? The 2016 Minnesota presidential caucuses. In this caucus, residents of a district can select who they want their delegates to vote for to receive the DFL (Democratic Farmer Labor) party nomination. The big contest this year for the Democratic party is between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders for the presidential nomination.

Many readers of The Talon are going to be able to vote in this year’s presidential election. Some even went out to participate in their caucus. Most have heard about Clinton and Sanders, but several local candidates were also present on Tuesday. However, local candidates are also often the least-known to high schoolers. I asked candidates and their representatives, “Why should an 18-year-old go out and vote for you (or the candidate you’re supporting) in the next election?”

Paul Chellsen (Bernie volunteer): Bernie is the one candidate who has rejected big money. If you look at the money he’s taken in, the average donation is twenty bucks. To raise as much money as the other guys, twenty bucks a pop, means he has grassroots support. There’s a reason that every kid under 25 I run into seems to be going for Bernie. It’s the student loan issue, which they realize firsthand is going to affect them. I think the other part of it is, he gives people hope. People also always ask about the military and veterans; what can he do for them? What he’s done for them is he’s voted against the war. If you support the veterans, you don’t want to make any more veterans- you want to take care of the ones you have, which he’s done. He’s the only person running for office that voted against the war. At the end of the day, we’re all going to come together hopefully and put a democrat in the White House.

Daran Han (Hillary volunteer): If you think about what’s happening in politics right now, the divisiveness in opinion and thought, especially between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, I think you should vote for Hillary because she’s a candidate that can go in and get the job done. With all of her experience, she’s ready to be Commander in Chief.

Erin Maye Quade, State House Representative candidate (District 57A): “I encompass a lot of minorities. I’m young, gay, black, and a woman. I was 18 a lot more recently than the people who are in the House right now. When I went to college in 2004, they told me to go to the best college and take out a lot of loans. Then, my econ teacher said, ‘You guys will have the worst economic conditions when you graduate.’ I didn’t want to be told about it, I wanted solutions. I’m more in your generation than the generation of the legislators I’ll be joining. We have a unique voice as a generation and it’s not there in the legislation.”

State Senator Greg Clausen: “I’ve done a lot of work on education issues. Students were overburdened with debt; we’ve got the fifth highest percentage of students carrying debt. And that means you can’t buy the first house or the new car, or maybe you’re putting off getting married. By refinancing student loans, maybe some of that can happen. I’ve been a big champion of concurrent enrollment, so students can earn college credit while they’re in high school. I’m very proud of my Paul Wellstone Award for Mental Health. I’ve done a lot of work on mental health. All-day kindergarten was also my deal. I’ve really enjoyed my time in the senate and I hope I’ve earned the trust and support of the people.”

Angie Craig volunteer: Angie’s number one platform is education. She’s kind of the epitome of the American Dream. She was actually raised in a trailer park in Arkansas, and then through working two different jobs she ended up sending herself to the University of Memphis, and then became a business executive at St. Jude medical. But the thing is, working two jobs, who can do that anymore? Who can finance themselves to college without taking student loans? That just doesn’t exist anymore. So, her platforms are providing funding for public education, special education, and just encouraging public colleges to lower their costs because we should all be able to go to college and pursue that American Dream. John Klein is retiring from our district’s congressional seat, so it’s a really good opportunity to turn it blue and elect a powerful woman to office and really change the face of power.

John Huot, State House Representative candidate (District 57B): I would imagine their biggest concern is education beyond high school. So one of my focuses will definitely be to look at those opportunities as far as their debt load they’re looking at. There’s gonna be a lot of jobs available to them, so we need to make sure they are successful and able to get into those positions. So keeping the debt load down is one of my major goals. I have a son who just graduated from Rosemount High School, so it’s the same situation in our family.

206,078 people participated in the democratic caucus in Minnesota last Tuesday, making it the second highest turnout of all time. After all was said and done, Bernie Sanders won every district in the state of Minnesota, ending up with approximately 62% support, while Clinton had about 38%. Out of Minnesota’s 77 delegates to the national convention, Sanders will receive 46 and Clinton will receive 31.