68 for '16 Candidate Research

Kelly Ayotte (7)

Party Affiliation: Republican

Political Ideology: No bloated budget bills, especially bills that include money for programs we don’t need and can’t afford. She is an advocate for “common sense budget reforms”, especially a ban on earmarks and strict spending caps.

Informal/Formal Qualifications: She was a long-time prosecutor and in 2010 became a Senator. She serves on a variety of committees including the Armed Services, Budget, Commerce, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and Aging Committees.

Assets/Liabilities: Native to New Hampshire. She is the Ranking Member on the Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and the Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation Operations. This shows leadership qualities, however only on a small scale. She has not yet shown much leadership in Congress and this might hurt her in the call for Presidency.

Electability: Medium to Low. She has limited experience in Congress and little media coverage.

Pat Toomey (10)

Political Affiliation: Republican

Political Ideology: Toomey strives to be an leader on economic, financial services, and budget issues.

Informal/Formal Qualifications: He has served on the Finance, Banking, Budget, and Joint Economic Committees. He is the chairman of the Senate Steering Committee (a caucus of Republicans who advocate for conservative policies in an innovative way).

Assets/Liabilities: He is seen to be “champion of fiscal responsibility”. He helped write and enact the bipartisan JOBS Act, which helped small and medium-sized businesses. As a Senator for Pennsylvania, Toomey would have an advantage for swinging a state that has very mixed ideologies.

Electability: Medium-Low. Toomey’s ideologies are too focused in the Republican sphere that he probably wouldn’t be able to win over the whole country or voters in the middle.

Who would you vote for and why?

I would vote for neither. I want a president with the experience of working across party lines to improve the lives of the people in the U.S. I think the government needs a lot of reform, but neither candidates focus on the reform I want to see in the spheres environmental, immigration, army, and education.