President Obama will stand for reelection on November 6, less than 8 months away. Despite months of campaigning, his Republican opponent remains unknown.
Many Notre Dame students display a lack enthusiasm for the Republican primary.
“The whole process is just uninteresting,” explained senior John Heid.
Heid’s disappointment can be at least partially explained by the candidate pool.
“I feel that there is no solid, dynamic candidate. Everyone is voting for Mitt Romney because he is not Newt Gingrich, not Rick Santorum, and Ron Paul isn’t a viable option,” Heid stated. “And Rick Santorum went to my high school.”
George Alcorn agreed.
“Personally I miss the Herman Cain commercials,” said Alcorn. “In all honesty though, I think the inability of the Republican Party to produce a clear frontrunner after this long of a campaign raises serious doubts about the candidates – that they will be able to form a strong opposition against President Obama in the general election.”
Neil Ryan is a libertarian and registered Republican. He considers himself, however, an independent voter. Like Heid and Alcorn, he is also dissatisfied with the candidates.
“I don’t like any of the frontrunners. I like Ron Paul….I am a libertarian,” said Ryan.
The lack of enthusiasm among Notre Dame students is not unique. According to a March 15 Gallup poll, slightly more than one-third of Republicans say they would vote “enthusiastically” for either Mitt Romney or Rick Santorum if either candidate were to win their party’s nomination for president.
Lack of enthusiasm for the primaries is not necessarily detrimental for Republicans and other critics of Obama. In the 2008 Democratic primary, for example, the contest between then-Senators Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama lasted until June.
Republicans are hoping for the latter, as securing the needed amount of delegates could lengthen the primary process and thereby lessen the time said candidate will be able to campaign directly against President Obama. As of now, the current frontrunner, Mitt Romney, has received just over 550 votes.
Delegate opportunities remain. Recent polls suggest that in addition to others, Romney leads in the take-all, delegate-rich state of California.
Furthermore, various polls indicate that Romney may perform well against Obama. The latest Gallup poll shows Romney leading the incumbent president by four percentage points.
Unenthusiastic Republicans and independents must take into account procedures and laws that are new to this election cycle. Various super PACs are playing a profound role in funding campaigns. Such organizations have been accused of both extending certain campaigns and excessively targeting others. In addition, proportional delegation is also affecting the campaigning. For certain states, the winning candidate is not awarded all of the delegates but only a proportion.
Regardless, for Republicans to succeed in the general election – or at least, capture the college vote – enthusiasm must improve.
“If it came down between Romney and Obama then I would be torn,” said Ryan.
Scott Englert is an avid fisherman. Contact him for a trout at senglert@nd.edu.
