With the upcoming presidential election, both Republican and Democrats are narrowing down their choices for who will represent their party for the November election.

The Republican side has been stirred up by political outsider Donald Trump, who has been strong in polls since the beginning of the campaign.

For the Republican Party there are five possible nominees, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Dr. Ben Carson, Marco Rubio and John Kasich.

“The millenials, this group of kids, will be the first in history to have a vote that can outweigh the baby boomers,” said Jayne Strachan, political science faculty member. “Young people feel alienated when it comes to politics and when they see what’s going on in their country, it makes them demand changes to be made.”

Click here to read an overview of the candidates vying for the Democratic Party nomination and where they stand on the issues.

Though millennials outnumber baby boomers, many young voters feel as though their vote doesn’t matter.

“Many students are frustrated by the student debt and many other social issues that serve as a pivotal part of their future,” said James Hill, professor of political science and public administration. “In the eight years we have had with Obama we haven’t seen much change in the pivotal issues that students which could cause voters to want something different and that change is needed.”

Donald Trump

Trump announced that he was running for president in June 2015. He is claiming that his success as a New York businessman will allow him to “make America great again.”

Trump has a large following and is leading polls for the Republican nomination. After Super Tuesday he established himself as the clear front runner, winning seven of the 11 available states.

His total pledged delegate count stands at 315 out of the 1237 needed to secure the nomination.

Trump plans to fix the economy with drastic budget cuts and strict foreign policy on immigration and imports.

Among some of Trumps other plans is to cut Department of Education and Common Core funding. Trump’s proposed foreign policy is to have a registered database for Muslim refugees coming into the country from Syria. Arguably Trump’s most famous policy is on immigration from Mexico. He proposes to construct a wall, financed by the Mexican government, to keep illegal immigrants out.

Ted Cruz

Cruz is a United States Senator from Texas who began his campaign for presidency March 2015.

After Super Tuesday, his total pledged delegate count stands at 205 out of the 1237 needed to secure the nomination.

Cruz graduated from Princeton University in 1992 and Harvard Law School in 1995. He served as the domestic policy adviser to George W. Bush on the 2000 presidential campaign and is in 2nd place for the most recent election polls with 17 points, reports CNN.

Cruz is strongly pro-life and wants to prosecute Planned Parenthood for abortions which he considers "violent crimes." Cruz also strongly opposes gay marriage. He believes marriage is, “one-man-one-woman,” and a building block of society.

Marco Rubio

Rubio was born the son of Cuban immigrants and is a Junior Senator from Florida. He announced he was running for president on April 13, 2015. Rubio is in 3rd place in current polls with and is close to knocking Ted Cruz out of 2nd place.

After Super Tuesday, his total pledged delegate count stands at 106 out 1237 needed to secure the nomination.

Rubio opposes all instances of abortion and said he plans to defund Planned Parenthood.

“The barbarians of our age have murdered millions of the unborn,” he said at a Republican debate on Aug. 7.

Rubio believes the educational system is out of date and that reforms need to be made in all levels of education. He wants to create a strong foreign language curriculum in elementary schools throughout the nation.

Rubio believes addressing global warming would destroy our economy. As Rubio said as a response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address on February 12, 2013, “our government can’t control the weather.” He wants to use proven methods of energy and fuel in order to keep energy prices down.

John Kasich

John Kasich is a former governor of the state of Ohio. He announced his candidacy for president during a rally at his Alma Matter, Ohio State University on July 21, 2015.

After Super Tuesday, Kasich's total pledged delegate count stands at 27 out of the 1237 needed to secure the nomination.

Kasich claims he will win Ohio over Trump and said during a rally in Nashville on Feb. 27.

“If I don’t win my home state, I’ll get out. But you know what? I’m going to win Ohio,” he said.

Like Trump, Kasich is pro-life and has supported initiatives to defund Planned Parenthood. Kasich turned Ohio’s $8 billion deficit into a $2 billion surplus and said he can do the same for the entire country.

Kasich plans to create a $120 million dollar college debt relief fund to help out graduating students with their college debt.

Kasich believes climate change is a threat to the environment, but does not know to what extent and said more research on the subject is required.

Ben Carson

Carson is a retired neurosurgeon who declared his bid during a rally in his hometown of Detroit on May 4.

Carson graduated from Yale University and the University of Michigan Medical School.

After Super Tuesday, Carson's total pledged delegate count stands at 7 out of the 1237 needed to secure the nomination.

Carson believes Roe v. Wade (1973) should be overturned and abortion should be outlawed in the exception of rape or incest. Carson is also strongly against the legalization of any drugs. He seeks to intensify the war on drugs at the federal level and to ban recreational marijuana use due to his view of the drug as a “gateway drug.”

Carson is a firm supporter of homeschooling because he believes it supports better values. He also came out in support of school of choice because he believes it will increase the competitive nature of education.

Students weigh in

An outlet for Republican students is College Republicans, a registered student organization which looks to address social issues and help get Republican candidates elected and spread their conservative message on campus.

“It’s a great organization to come into and it offers a great group to come to where everyone shares similar beliefs and interests as you,” said Mount Morris sophomore Mackenzie Flynn.

Flynn serves as the president of College Republicans.

“I was always interested in politics throughout high school and was always the person who knew what was happening with elections and candidates which is why I came to CMU for a degree in political science,” she said.

With the majority of college students being eligible, many will vote for the first time in this coming election.

“I side with the Republican Party because they promote a hard work ethic to become successful I also believe the policies the Republican Party stands for are attainable, unlike the idea of free college for all,” said Virginia Beach freshman Tiffany Cline. “I’ll be voting in the this election because I am sick of the way things are currently being run and I want to have a say in who our next president will be.”