With the 2012 Iowa caucuses and the elections right around the corner, college students everywhere are starting to consider who to vote for.

For some of us, it is the first time we have ever voted in a presidential election.

The Democratic Party, as the incumbent party, doesn’t have a lot of choices. The Grand Old Party, however, as they attempt to oust President Barack Obama, has a very wide assortment of candidates to choose from. I’ll be going over these candidates and giving my views on each of them and the chances they have against President Obama.

My personal favorite for the Republican Presidential Nomination is former Massachusetts Governor and Wall Street businessman Mitt Romney.

One of his campaign promises is to propose a jobs package to Congress on his first day in office that will consist of at least five major proposals that are designed to put Americans back to work. He also promises to use all of the authority and power at his disposal to assure its passage.

Romney has a very strict policy on illegal immigration. He believes that being in this country without documentation should be punishable by law. He would set more patrols along the border and also end all laws giving in-state tuition to children of illegal immigrants. Romney is also an advocate of gun ownership; meaning he favors less restrictions on the ownership of guns.

Romney also believes that “Obamacare” must be repealed and replaced with a system that empowers states and individuals and reduces health care costs across the nation. He believes that states and private industries, not the federal government, should hold the key to health care in the United States.

There are other candidates that are definitely worth watching; second place candidate Rick Perry and third place candidate Herman Cain.

Perry is the former governor of Texas and is a solid conservative who believes in very strict sanctions on illegal immigrants. He also shares some of the same views as Romney on “Obamacare.” The problem is that he doesn’t have the history in business that Romney has, and his ultra-conservative views and history will turn off many voters.

Cain, former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, is the candidate currently in third place and is running on a platform of economics. He has introduced a plan that he calls 999. This is a plan consisting of a 9 percent flat sales tax, a 9 percent flat income tax and a 9 percent flat corporate tax. I think this plan has certain virtues and could help us in the economic problems that our country is having.

However, the main problem with Cain is the simple fact that he has never ever been in any sort of political job; he is a businessman with no real experience, and this will turn people off and cause him to lose the Republican primary.

There are obviously more candidates, but the main race from here on out will be between these three, and between them I think that Romney will get the Republican nod. He has experience in both politics and business, and is probably the best man we have for the job.

Kyle is a political science major. He is the freshman class president and active in College Republicans and Sigma Alpha Epsilon.