Where Are They Now: 2016 Presidential Candidates Edition

Gary Johnson (L): The Libertarian candidate and former governor of New Mexico, Gary Johnson made himself pretty well known for a third-party candidate this past election season. But since the election, Johnson has kept himself under the radar. Once the election ended, he told the Albuquerque Journal that he’s done with political races and will be devoting his time to his health.

Jill Stein (G): This doctor and Green Party candidate has been quite busy since the election. She raised money to recount the votes in three different states. However, Pennsylvania and Michigan denied this request, and her efforts in Wisconsin showed that Donald Trump had 131 votes that weren’t counted for.  

Ted Cruz (R): One of the last few Republicans in the running for the party nominee, Ted Cruz continues to be a voice for the Republican Party. He just recently debated Senator Bernie Sanders on the future of the Affordable Care Act, continuing his fight to repeal this act. There was some speculation President Trump would nominate him as a Supreme Court Justice, but he was not selected as the nominee and continues his work in the Senate.

Bernie Sanders (D): Sanders is serving his ninth year as Senator of Vermont. During the debate on CNN against Sen. Ted Cruz, Sanders was adamant about amending the Affordable Care Act instead of repealing it. He is still trying to work with Congress on the idea of Universal Healthcare, but it seems as if Sanders’ idea won’t pass in Congress, especially with the introduction of the ObamaCare replacement bills, introduced by members of the GOP. Sanders is also on tour with DNC Chair Tom Perez to try to unite the Democractic party. 

Marco Rubio (R): Rubio is currently serving in the US Senate for the state of Florida. The Senator was just recently assigned as the chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) where he will “monitor human rights and the development of the rule of law in China.” He was a fierce supporter of the Syrian strikes just last month. 

Rand Paul (R): Dr. Rand Paul introduced alternative for the Affordable Care Act. Paul’s plan would eliminate the mandate that everyone has coverage. It would also remove the minimum standards of health services that healthcare plans are supposed to cover. You can check out the rest of his plan here. In addition, he has been a vocal critic of the spending bill. Senator Paul will be teaching a course at George Washington University next semester. 

Ben Carson (R): Neurosurgeon Ben Carson is still pursuing a position in politics. He was nominated by President Trump to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Many are concerned about Carson being in this position since he has little experience in public office but Massachusetts Democrat, Senator Elizabeth Warren, supports Dr. Carson to become a leader of this department because of the ideas he presented during his senate hearing.

John Kasich (R): Kasich is one of the Republican Party members who boycotted the RNC due to the presidential nominee. Now, he is working with John Weaver and Chris Schrimpf on a nonprofit political organization, Two Paths America. The goals of this organization are to create an amendment to balance the budget and build a strong national defense. He also has said “never say never” on potentially running for president in 2020. 

Mike Huckabee (R): Huckabee still appears on Fox News to provide his opinions on the new president’s actions. On February 19, he received the Friend of Zion Award in Jerusalem for being a fierce ally to Israel.

Carly Fiorina (R): The only female candidate for the Republican Party during the past election season is seriously considering running for a Virginia Senate seat in 2018. If she does decide to run, she would be up against the incumbent Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton’s former running mate. The businesswoman was also a speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this year. She spoke about how we as a country should unify rather than polarize.

Chris Christie (R): Governor Christie has been seen recently addressing President Trump’s travel ban on seven nations from the Middle-East. He says that Trump’s goals were credible but its application was “terrible” because the right people weren’t involved.  Christie also met with the president to discuss the job offer of Labor secretary but turned it down.

Martin O’Malley (D): Former Governor of Maryland, Martin O’Malley, has taken a position at Boston College this semester as a lecturer on law. After this semester, O’Malley plans to give speeches and write to encourage young people to be active in politics.

Jeb Bush (R): Jeb Bush has been out of the spotlight for the most part since Election Day. However, he has been voicing his opinion on Trump’s infamous wall. Because the US doesn’t own all of the 1,954 miles along the border, Bush states the harsh reality that this will be a complicated task.

Rick Santorum (R): Santorum, who dropped out of the race fairly early and endorsed Marco Rubio, has been seen on several news stations giving his opinions on current events. He was also a panelist at CPAC this year on “What is the Trump Doctrine? The Forgotten Man Panel.”

Jim Gilmore (R): Before running for President in 2016, Jim Gilmore was the governor of Virginia. He is still looking to continue his political career, though maybe not as POTUS. Instead, he is planning on running for a Senate seat in 2018.

George Pataki (R): After dropping out of the presidential race, this former governor of New York endorsed John Kasich and eventually supported Trump after the RNC. But since then, Pataki hasn’t been very active in the political sphere, or at least been mentioned by the media since the election.

Lindsey Graham (R): Senator Graham currently serves South Carolina and is Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism. He spoke at CNN’s sixth political town hall on March 1, along with Sen. John McCain, addressing America’s immigration policies and relations with Russia.

Lincoln Chafee (D): Lincoln Chafee has been heard recently defending Trump on his issues with the media. Chafee said he too experienced problems with the media during his presidential run. He believes the media has been against Trump since the beginning of the race. Along with making statements on the media’s actions, he has also mentioned taking another shot at running for Rhode Island governor and possibly even trying for the presidency again.

Bobby Jindal (R): Since the election, The Former Governor of Louisiana has appeared on Fox News several times. Recently, he spoke out about his support for Trump’s temporary freeze on travel for people from 7 different Middle Eastern countries.

Jim Webb (D): Webb spoke with Chuck Todd on NBC’s Meet the Press about the election. He had some interesting things to say about the Democratic Party and discussed why Trump was able to win the election.

Donald Trump (R): Donald Trump won the electoral vote on November 8, 2016. He was inaugurated in January, and since then, he has signed executive orders. One of his most controversial EOs is the ban on immigration from seven different Muslim countries. On Tuesday, February 28, President Trump gave his first address to Congress, which received much positive feedback, unlike many of his previous speeches. He just hit his 100 day mark in office last week and is getting mixed reviews of his presidency so far.

Hillary Clinton (D): After losing the Presidential Election, Former Secretary Clinton has kept a low profile. However, she has been seen giving some speeches. In addition, she has been using her Twitter account to voice her opinion on her rival’s legislation. She announced that she was planning on writing a book about her experience in running for president in 2016. There has been much speculation as to whether or not she will continue with a career in politics. Some news sites have hinted that she might run for the presidency again. Others have pointed at her running for NYC mayor, but Clinton has not publicly voiced her plans yet. Just recently, she blamed James Comey, Wikileaks, and misogyny.