On Nov. 8, 2016, the American people will determine the man or woman who will become the 45th President of the United States of America. The man or woman who will lead the country the next four years to become more successful and powerful as a whole. Because the current President, Barack Obama, is ineligible for re-election, both parties are fielding a number of candidates: 14 for Republicans and three for Democrats. With less than a year until the election, and less than three months until primaries, candidates are campaigning hard to be their party’s nominee. According to Real Clear Politics, Hillary Clinton is leading in the Democratic party and Donald Trump is ahead for the Republicans. With so many candidates currently populating the field, it can seem a daunting decision to pick only one, but to cover the field, here is a brief breakdown of the top candidates from each party:

REPUBLICAN PARTY

Donald Trump

After announcing his campaign on June 1, Donald Trump has been the talk of politics, social media, and almost all of America. Some don’t see Trump as a genuine and reliable candidate because they feel that he is more interested in himself than in progress.  Although he has no political experience, Trump has captured the attention of the country and of the media with his comments and his boisterous behavior, so much so that he is the current Republican front-runner. Many still have doubts as to his ability to serve as an effective leader, given some of his comments regarding immigrants, women, and foreign policy.

Dr. Ben Carson

After successfully separating Siamese twins attached at the head in 1987, Dr. Ben Carson became known as one of the most prominent neurosurgeons in the world. Although he is very accomplished in the medical field, Dr. Carson has no experience in politics. Having never run for a political office makes many trepidatious about his ability to lead. His soft spoken demeanor and calm attitude, as well as his often right-wing opinions, however, make him an extremely appealing candidate to many voters, as evidenced by his success in the polls.

Marco Rubio

Born to Cuban parents, 44-year-old nominee Marco Rubio is thought to have a fair chance of winning this election because he has years of experience in politics after being elected to the Florida State House in 1999 and since then made significant impact on the state. After he began his political career as a Florida senator, he continued to work and make progress towards improving the state and wants to further his work to improving the country. Many have doubts about Rubio however, because of his apparent tendency to change his views, including distancing himself from an immigration reform bill he helped to create.

DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Hillary Clinton

Being the First Lady of the United States and Arkansas, Secretary of State and a New York senator, Hillary Clinton has many years of experience in politics making her a well-rounded and well-connected candidate. Because she was Secretary of State for four years, she has years of experience with foreign policy, which many voters view as an unparalleled asset in Clinton’s favor. However, many voters have reservations about Clinton, both because of the perceived inconsistency in her positions and issues involving her tenure as Secretary of State, notably her use of a private email server during Benghazi.

Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders is the current dark horse of the Democratic Party. At the start of the election cycle, Hillary Clinton seemed to have the nomination on lock, but Sanders is pulling ahead of Clinton in some key states.  He has had more experience in politics than any candidate running, having held an elected office of some sort since 1981, but many are off-put by his views, as he calling himself a ‘democratic socialist,’ which many consider too radical. He is currently supported by thousands of individual donors, unlike most other candidates who depend on a few large donations from key, high-income individuals. Many pundits tend to believe that Sanders wouldn’t be able to win the general election because many say that he is far too liberal to win the independent and centrist votes. Many voters fear the moniker, “socialist,” making them uneasy about Sanders, while still others are “Feel[ing] the Bern.”