The 2016 presidential election campaign is taking shape very quickly, and it’s especially interesting for Oakton seniors who will get to vote for the first time this fall. Before we get to election day in November, however, both major political parties are engaged in a lengthy series of nominating contests, commonly referred to as “primaries.” The Democratic and Republican primaries are conducted on a state-by-state basis to determine each party’s eventual candidate in the general election this fall.

So far the races in both parties have not gone the way that most people thought they would. For example, on the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton was expected by many to have smooth sailing through the primaries. Instead, rival Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders has become very competitive and has mounted a very strong campaign. The first primary contest took place in Iowa (called a “caucus”), with Clinton and Sanders finishing in a statistical tie. In the second primary, the candidates travelled to New Hampshire. Sanders won this contest by a wide margin over Clinton. Furthermore, on the Republican side, things also went unexpectedly throughout the early primaries. While Donald Trump’s campaign has surprised people all around the country by maintaining its “front runner” status, Trump finished second in Iowa to Sen. Ted Cruz, despite having had large leads in all of the final pre-caucus polls. However, Trump reconfirmed his large lead in New Hampshire by winning that primary contest very easily, with John Kasich coming in second.

The races became even more interesting last weekend, with the Democratic party holding a caucus in Nevada, and the Republican party heading south to compete in the South Carolina primary. The Democratic race remained tight, with Hillary Clinton emerging with a narrow victory over Bernie Sanders on Saturday. Meanwhile, the previously crowded Republican field of candidates further narrowed as a result of the hotly contested South Carolina primary. Donald Trump finished first, and Sen. Marco Rubio and Sen. Ted Cruz virtually tied at second place. After finishing fourth, Jeb Bush withdrew from the race.

Now all eyes are on March 1, when many states across the south will hold primaries in what is being called “Super Tuesday.” That’s when the campaigns will be coming to Virginia, so we will see lots of signs and flyers when voters head to our schools to cast their ballots.