Although November 2016 still seems a long time from now, new candidates have already begun to announce their intentions to run for their respective party’s presidential nomination. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced her bid for the Democratic nomination on April 12, 2015, seemingly unaffected by the unabashed criticism from the Republican Party.

Clinton appears to be the only “likely” nominee for the Democratic Party, with no other major names declaring their intentions to run. The candidacy is significantly different for Clinton than it was for her in 2008, as she no longer faces fierce competition from other candidates in the upcoming Democratic primaries, as she did when facing Barack Obama in 2008 Democratic primaries.

The state of the Grand Old Party, however, is different; three major candidates have already announced their intentions to run for the Republican nomination. On March 23, Texas Senator Ted Cruz announced his candidacy, becoming the first of the major players to declare his intentions. On April 7, Rand Paul, the Kentucky senator and son of 2012 Republican candidate Ron Paul, announced his bid for the nomination.  Florida senator Marco Rubio announced his bid on April 13, less than a day after Former Secretary of State Clinton announced her own run.

As most juniors and seniors at San Luis Obispo High School will be eligible to vote in the 2016 presidential election, many students are staying alert to the candidacy announcements. “I’m glad to see Hillary Clinton running again…I think a majority of the Democratic Party can get behind her”, said Senior Dorothy Monza. “From what I’ve seen so far from Republicans, it seems a little more scattered… It will be harder for them to really rally behind one candidate in particular.”