Every four years the presidential election dominates the news preparing for who will be commander-in-chief. Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump differ not only in policy but also how they run their campaign.
One of the bigger stories of the 2016 election is Trump’s run for the president. Having spent no time in political office, there is speculation if he can go the distance and win on Election Day. In comparison, Clinton has over 30 years of political experience and is running a more traditional campaign. In contrast to Clinton’s campaign, Donald Trump’s non-traditional approach running for president has him in pursuit of becoming the 45th commander-in-chief.
“You turn on CNN or Fox or MSNBC, they’re spending all their time talking about Donald Trump,” said Brian Sanderoff, president of Research and Polling, Inc. “It’s free advertising, he’s a master of that.”
Sanderoff says Trump is known for his ability to use publicity, good or bad, to its full extent.
New Mexico In-Depth reporter Sandra Fish said there is “a lack of enthusiasm for these two candidates compared to the last two elections.”
“Hillary hopes to pick up some of the anti-Trump Republicans and Donald Trump hopes to pick up some of the anti-Hillary Clinton Democrats,” Sanderoff said. “Because both of them have such high unfavorables in the polls each one hopes to get the crossover vote from the other party.”
Fish says New Mexicans contributed more money to Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign than Trump’s campaign through the end of August 2016. Sen. Cruz dropped out of the Republican nomination race in May. Although Republicans receive support in New Mexico, she says New Mexico voters also favor Clinton.
“Democrats in New Mexico are really behind her and supporting her,” Fish said.
Since 2008, Republican presidential nominees Trump, former Gov. of Massachusetts Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain of Arizona, have all trailed behind their Democratic opponents when it comes to fundraising.
According to the Federal Election Commission, Clinton’s campaign shares similarities with Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns. She has received the most contributions in New Mexico as well as the United States.
Clinton has more than doubled Trump’s number of $165 million in contributions with a total of $373 million. In New Mexico, Clinton has a lead in fundraising with more than $1,000,000 in contributions compared to Trump’s amount which is a little over $350,000.
“She’s running a conventional campaign,” Sanderoff said. “She’s a conventional person, she’s part of the establishment.”
Sanderoff says both candidates have been consistent in their respective styles and have been able to appeal to a great number of voters.
“Trump is not scripted, he pretty much speaks his mind,“ Sanderoff said. “He sometimes does it to a fault and impacts his campaign.”
Sanderoff says Clinton is the opposite.
“She’s very scripted and stays on message and rarely slips,” Sanderoff said. “But as a result of that some people see her as not authentic or sincere.”
Even though New Mexico can be a Democratic state, Clinton should not expect an easy win, Sanderoff said.
Follow Jake on Twitter
