Hillary Clinton

Education

Clinton has taken a more moderate position on higher education than her opponent Bernie Sanders, calling for “debt-free” college tuition rather than free college tuition

Climate Change

Clinton’s plan for energy and climate change is twofold. First, she wants to see the U.S. build half a billion solar panels by 2020, and second, she hopes that the U.S. will generate enough renewable energy to power every American home within 10 years.

Economy

As a part of her economic policy, Clinton will try to increase the minimum wage, lower taxes on the middle class and keep a check on Wall Street to make sure that they don’t “wreck Main Street” as in 2008.

Health Care

Building on President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, Clinton hopes to reduce the costs of health care and ensure that it is available to all Americans.

Immigration

Again reaffirming Obama’s plan, Clinton says she will defend the president’s executive action and create a simpler path to legal citizenship for immigrants

Foreign Policy

Citing her position as Secretary of State, Clinton said she will continue to build diplomatic alliances, strengthen the U.S. military and defeat ISIS.

Bernie Sanders

Education

Sanders supports making public colleges and universities tuition free, allowing current and previous students to refinance their student loans at lower rates and stopping the federal government from charging an interest tax on federal loans.

Climate Change

Sanders believes that climate change is manmade and supports investing in renewable resources, divesting from the fossil fuel industry and instituting a tax on carbon emissions.

Economy

Sanders supports unions, equal pay for women and a $15 minimum wage. He also supports increasing taxes on those who earn over $3.5 million, corporations and Wall Street.

Healthcare

Sanders supports universal health care, advocating for the creation of a federally administered single payer health care system.

Immigration

Sanders supports comprehensive immigration reform that would secure the border and end detention and deportation for undocumented immigrants who have lived in the United States for more than five years as well as offering a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

Foreign Policy

Sanders voted against the Iraq War in 2002 and advocates using diplomacy over military action. He also supports closing Guantanamo Bay and ending the use of torture.

Ted Cruz

Education

If elected, Cruz would fight to end Common Core. He is supportive of school choice in order to give children equal opportunities.

Climate change

Cruz has denied climate change and said the facts and evidence do not support it.

Economy

Cruz introduced the Cruz Simple Flat Tax of 10 percent for all Americans, which he states would allow all income groups to see a double digit increase in after-tax income. Cruz would like to see the economic growth created by tax reforms used to rebuild the military.

Healthcare

If elected, Cruz would repeal the Affordable Care Act and propose new reforms to the U.S. healthcare system. He has said he wants to keep the government from coming between patients and their doctors.

Immigration

Cruz has stated that he will stop illegal immigration in the U.S. if he’s elected president. To do so, he proposed building a wall on the border, tripling border security and implementing biometric security to protect the border. Cruz also believes legal immigration needs to be reformed.

Foreign Policy

Cruz has stated that “what is best for America is best for the world.” As such, he believes the U.S. needs to restore global leadership and defend the country’s allies and interests.

John Kasich

Education

Kasich is against free college tuition and has stated that students should attend community college to decrease costs, proposing that community colleges should start offering four year bachelor’s degrees.

Climate Change

Kasich is the only Republican candidate who believes that climate change is caused by humans. He has said that he would support investment in renewable energy and efforts to curb carbon emissions, but not at the expense of coal and natural gas workers.

Economy

Kasich has supported revitalizing the economy by focusing on balancing budgets and cutting taxes. He has supported the elimination of the death tax, a 16 percent income tax cut and the income tax for small businesses.

Healthcare

Kasich supports the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, instead advocating for changes to healthcare that include patient-centered care, cost reduction incentives and a market competition to reduce costs and provide better care.

Immigration

Kasich has supported the building of a wall between the United States and Mexico, but he does not support the removal of current undocumented immigrants who are law-abiding.

Foreign Policy

Kasich has advocated for increasing defense spending by $102 billion over the next eight years. Additionally, he has expressed support for Israel, Ukraine, Egypt and certain Pacific allies.

Marco Rubio

Education

If elected president, Rubio says he will be the “vocational education president,” putting a greater emphasis on trained skills and de-stigmatizing vocational education and careers.

Climate Change

Rubio says that he would reverse the Clean Power Plan, an Environmental Protection Agency plan to reduce carbon emissions, which he said is too costly. He has not denied climate change is occurring, but has said that it is more important to focus on economy before environment.

Economy

Rubio does not want to raise the minimum wage, and instead plans to support free enterprise and lift the crude oil export ban to stimulate the economy.

Healthcare

Rubio says he will appeal all of the Affordable Care Act on his first day in office and will support medical innovation.

Immigration

Securing the border is the top priority for Rubio, who said in a speech in South Carolina he would rather fund “20,000 more border agents instead of 20,000 new IRS agents.”

Foreign Policy

As president, Rubio would work to increase sanctions on Iran and “empower the intelligence community”by extending the PATRIOT Act.

Donald Trump

Education

Trump believes children’s education should be determined at the local level and is supportive of reforms to financing college tuition.

Climate change

Trump has denied climate change, calling it “weather.”

Economy

If elected, Trump said he will bring jobs that have been outsourced overseas back to the U.S.

Healthcare

Trump wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with “something terrific.”

Immigration

If elected Trump would build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Foreign Policy

Trump is determined to defeat ISIS and wants to rebuild the U.S. military.

[email protected]
Compiled by Abigale Svoboda, Marijo Enderle and MaryCate Most