News
The State of the Republican Party
By Olivia Slack, Features Editor
for more division within the party,
and The Washington Post reported
that in January the RNC ceremoni-
In 2016, the U.S. experienced
a contentious presidential election
for both the Democrats and the Re
publicans. However, the rift did not
just occur between the two parties,
but within them as well. The Repub
lican party in particular is still expe
riencing this tension within itself in
the run-up to the 2020 presidential
election, and the split between cur
rent president Trump’s supporters
and those who wish for a different
Republican in the Oval Office is one
that will surely only deepen when the
campaigns for the primaries begin in
earnest.
Currently, there is only one
Republican candidate for president
in 2020; Donald Trump. However,
other prominent Republicans like
John Kasich have not (yet) ruled out
presidential bids. The Republican
National Committee, though, seems
to be extremely wary of the potential
ally signed their support for Donald
Trump as their candidate in 2020.
This does not technically bar oth
ers from running against him in
the primaries, but it does strongly
discourage them, and in fact some
state Republican parties are at least
considering not holding their prima
ries so that Donald Trump becomes
the de facto candidate. According
to the South Carolina newspaper
The State, in December 2018, S.C.’s
state Republican party chairman
Drew McKissick said that in summer
2019, S.C. would make the deci
sion on whether to hold the GOP’s
primary—the first of the year held in
the Southern states—or whether to
show their unequivocal support for
Donald Trump and cancel the pri
mary. This is not the first time that
Allison Dhale: A Woman in Power
By Hannah Brittain-Dubois, Staff Writer
was just a given that my brother and I
could do things equally.”
Allison Dhale was sworn into
office in the North Carolina House
of Representatives this January. She
came into office unexpectedly after
allegations came out about sexual
harassment charges that were filed
against the former Democratic candi
date and former State Representative
Duane Hall. Governor Roy Cooper
requested that Hall resign from his
position as representative of the state
of North Carolina. Dhale correspond
ed over email with the Herald.
How does it feel to be in a role that
predominantly has been completed
by a man?
“I have never thought of any position
that way. Growing up, my father and
mother always talked about the per
son, not their gender and what they
were contributing to the government
or whatever committee of which they
were apart. To be perfectly honest, it
What are the main things that are
important to you and what would
you like to change?
“Equal Rights Amendment, LGBTQ
rights specifically trans rights, and
making sure that people with dis
abilities have the same access to all
services that those without disabili
ties are able to access,”
How did your childhood affect you
wheye you around many strong
women?
“My mother worked at Meredith in
the continuing education department
(she actually started that program);
1 always thought of this program as
lifting women up and letting all of us
know that we can do anything we set
our minds to. 1 spent summers on the
Meredith College campus and all the
cancelling presidential primary elec
tions has been considered by state
parties: S.C. Republicans specifically
did so for incumbents Ronald Rea
gan and George W. Bush in 1984 and
2004, respectively, and Democrats in
S.C. similarly did not hold primaries
in 1996 for Bill Clinton and in 2012
for Barack Obama.
Though canceling state pri
mary elections is largely symbolic,
it could also have major implica
tions for whoever ends up winning
the GOP’s support. Not holding
primaries is also considered by
some to be unfair to voters in those
specific states, vyho would not have
the chance to vote for the candidate
they believe would best represent
their party in the general election.
One could argue that refusing to al
low Republican voters to voice their
opinions oh the current president
through their votes in the primaries
women I came in contact with were
strong women and had lived through
a time where women were marginal
ized and were ready for women to
take their place in history as contrib
uting members of society.”
Do you have anything you are
passionate about working towards
these next couple of years?
“ERA if it does not pass this time and
to continue to fight for people who
are marginalized by society. I feel I
owe a debt of gratitude to those who
came before me and have fought to
pave the way for me.”
The ERA is an Equal Rights Amend
ment that creates equal rights for all
citizens, regardless of their gender
or sexual orientation. To learn more
about the work that ERA is doing,”
visit https://www.equalrightsamend-
ment.org/
The 2020 presidential
election is shaping up to be a dif
ficult fight between the two major
parties. So far, the only Republi
can who has officially announced
their candidacy is the incumbent.
President Trump. However, the
Democratic side already has a
crowded field of candidates lined
up, so here is a brief guide to each
of these candidates’ positions on
a handful of important issues.
Sources primarily include candi
dates’ websites, NBC, and PBS.
Democrats
Cory Booker, New Jersey Senator
Education: supports school choice
and privatization of schools, i.e. char
ter schools, school vouchers, and
merit pay for teachers
Environmental: supports a carbon
tax to help deal with climate change-
causing greenhouse gas emissions
Health care: supports expanding
Medicare and transitioning to a
“Medicare-for-all” system of single
payer healthcare
Immigration and minority rights:
does not support a border wall with
Mexico and has supported bills to
protect DACA recipients
Guns: has supported legislation to
ban assault weapons and has voted
to prohibit those on terror watchlists
from buying guns, but has also said
that he believes that law-abiding citi
zens should be able to own guns
Abortion: pro-choice and opposes
overturning Roe v. Wade
Pete Buttigieg, Mayor of South Bend,
Indiana
Platform not yet announced, but
according to an interview with NBC
it will focus on “freedom, democracy
and security.”
Julian Castro, former Housing Secretary
under Obama admin.
Education: supports making pre
kindergarten publicly funded and
available to all children; has also
expressed interest in making the first
two years of higher education free .
Environmental: supports the Paris
Climate Agreement, the reduction
of greenhouse gas emissions and a
transition to renewable energy, but
has also said that he’d like an energy
plan that includes fossil fuels
could end up splitting the party even
further. This move has the potential
to alienate those who do not support
the current figurehead of the GOP by
not giving them the chance to dissent.
This act of almost forcing Republican
voters to support Trump in the gen
eral election could arguably end up
sending some to the Democratic side,
or driving some to not vote at all.
Overall, the Republican party
is at a crossroads of sorts, where
regular members of the party must
decide where they fall in the divi
sive debate over President Trump’s
viability as a candidate in 2020, and
officials within the party must decide
whether to try to preserve the party’s
intactness through force or let their
constituents show their will.
What advice would you offer for
someone seeking public office
someday?
1. ” Don’t listen to anyone who tells
you can’t.”
2. “Contact Lillian’s list. Local Wom
en’s group in your area.”
3. “Work on carnpaigrisj volunteer
and participate in your precincts and
your party.”
4. “Find other women in government
and give them a call. We all love to
talk about our stories and want to
share. During my run, I spoke to lots
of women who had run before and
held or were holding office. They
were all very encouraging.”
5. “Don’t be afraid; just put you name
in and run for office. By putting your
name in and registering for office you
have already won. Stepping up to
serve is a great accomplishment and
it takes guts.”
Your Guide to the 2020 Presidential Candidates (So Far)
By Olivia Slack, Features Editor, and Huma Hashmi, Staff Writer
Health care: supports universal
healthcare and “Medicare-for-all” as
well as the Affordable Care Act
Immigration and minority rights:
supports a pathway to citizenship for
most undocumented immigrants and
does not support the border wall with
Mexico
Guns: supports a ban on assault
weapons and limits on high-capacity
magazines
Abortion: pro-choice
For a comrehensive list and full
description of all candidates,
visit www.meredithherald.
wordpress.com