The Race Before the Race

The Republicans

Jeb Bush

Political history

• 1987 and 1988 first held political post as the Florida’s Secretary of Commerce
• Served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999-2006
• Brother to 43rd President George W. Bush and son of the 41st President

Stance on Education

According to ontheissues.org, Jeb Bush has made it clear education reform is a top priority for his administration. He is a supporter of the Common Core Standards and has openly stated he supports higher education standards in the US. He also believes that there’s too much testing occurring and there are other ways to measure success.

Age: 62

Rick Perry

Political History

• Rick Perry has served four terms as the Texas governor.
• In 2012, Perry was a potential candidate for the presidential election.

Stance on Education

While Governor of Texas, Perry cut school spending but simultaneously increased graduation rates according to ontheissues.org. He believes that the budget cuts they made were thoughtful reductions and schools have done well with the resources given.

Age: 64

Chris Christie

Political history

• 2001 Christie was nominated by George W. Bush as the United States Attorney for New Jersey.
• In 2009, Christie ran for Governor of New Jersey and won.

Stance on Education

According to ontheissues.org, Christie advocates rewarding teachers that do their job well. He doesn’t support teachers’ unions and believes they do not reward good teachers properly. He also believes that children in failing schools should be allowed to attend better schools nearby.

Age: 52

The Democrats

Hillary Clinton

Political History

• Hillary Clinton was a U.S Senator from 2001-2009 and planned on running for the 2008 presidential election. She later conceded her nomination, when it became clear Obama held the majority of the vote for the democratic party.
• She was then appointed Secretary of State by Obama and held the position until 2013. She is also the wife of former president Bill Clinton.

Stance on Education

Hillary Clinton supports Common Core education as well as national standards, national tests and national curriculum, according to ontheissues.org. She firmly believes in weeding out sub-par teachers and school-based merit pay. She also does not support vouchers for low income parents because it would take away resources from schools

Age: 67

Joe Biden

Political History

• In 1972, Joe Biden became the fifth youngest U.S. senator the nation has ever had. He served as a senator until 2009.
• Biden ran for president in 1988 and again in 2008 but dropped out of the race. Several months later he became Obama’s running mate and became the U.S’s 47th vice president.

Stance on Education

According to ontheissues.org, Biden supports paying more teachers to have smaller class sizes when children are younger. He also believes that it should be a national standard to have sixteen years minimum of education. In addition he believes that more should be demanded from teachers but teachers must be paid more for that to happen.

Age: 72

Elizabeth Warren

Political History

• Elected senator for Massachusetts in 2012

Stance on Education

Warren supports reducing student loans according to ontheissues.org and firmly supports more of a focus on public schools and universities. She also supports grants to teach sex-education in school.

Age: 65