As the Iowa caucuses slowly fade from memory, many of us are glad to be rid of the constant calls, commercials, and news coverage of nothing but politics.

As a first time voter in the presidential election, and someone who has never been extremely interested in politics, I have made the decision to try and keep up with each potential Republican nominee and stay informed.

I started following the various candidates in the summer when Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty came to my hometown.

Never having been faced with the opportunity to speak to candidates before, and not knowing a lot about politics, I asked basic questions and listened to what the candidates had to say.

As an independent voter, my political views tend to lean more conservative, but as I followed the various Republican candidates along the campaign trail, there wasn’t one particular candidate that stood out to me.

I liked various aspects of each candidate’s campaign views, and I tend to agree with more of the conservative Republican views than with most Democratic views, but it was hard for me to stand completely behind one of the Republican candidates.

As Republican candidate Rick Santorum came into the race, I was impressed with his campaign strategies.

Not having his campaign offices call my home phone or cell phone numerous times a day really made him more appealing, and it was notable how he traveled to all 99 counties to keep face-to-face campaigning alive.

With this technique, Santorum was able to come close to a win the old-fashioned way. As the campaign progressed and we came closer to caucus day, I was interested in Santorum’s campaign.

He impressed me with his down to earth campaign speeches and seemed like a relatable candidate. But, once again, Santorum has extreme conservative views that I do not completely agree with.

As opposed to other candidates such as Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, Santorum made the connection with voters by being a relatable candidate and running a lower cost, old-fashioned campaign.

When it came to voting in the caucuses, I opted not to vote since I want to remain an independent voter. However, when it comes to the general election this November, I will most likely be voting for the Republican candidate.

As a general believer in pro-life and pro-gun practice, I tend to share more views with the Republican candidates than Democrats.

As an independent, four years ago I was swept up by the high profile Obama campaign. This year, no individual candidate has rallied voters like Obama did in 2008.

Last election, voters developed a strong passion for Obama and his campaign platform, but a problem with the current campaign is that no candidate has been able to create such a strong following.

He promised change in our country and offered a fresh perspective if he were elected, but I have been thoroughly disappointed with what he as done with his time in office.

Although Obama inherited many of the nation’s problems when he entered office, issues such as the national debt have only gotten worse.

Overall, I am disappointed and worried about our country’s current state and not just the leadership of Obama, but also our nation’s government as a whole.

Madison is a sophomore integrated marketing communications major. She is a Simpsonian staff writer, a member of Pi Beta Phi, is vice president of marketing for Greek Life and secretary of the Simpson Shooting Sports Club.