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Essential question
Why does agreement within political parties matter during elections?Ted Cruz and John Kasich both suspended their campaigns this week, effectively making Donald Trump the Republican nominee for president. The announcements followed an overwhelming Trump win Tuesday in Indiana, a state where Cruz had campaigned vigorously in the weeks leading up to the primary. Trump beat 16 Republican opponents — the majority of whom are politicians with decades of experience — in less than a year. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus declared Trump the presumptive nominee and called upon the rest of the party to unify in order to beat Hillary Clinton, the most likely opponent, in November. But many in the Republican Party have said they will never vote for the controversial candidate, with some burning their voter registration cards as an act of protest. “If we nominate Trump we will get destroyed, and we will deserve it,” South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a former Republican candidate, tweeted Wednesday. Trump must still secure the official nomination in July at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio.
Key terms
general election
— a regular election of candidates for office, as opposed to a primary election; the general election for president of the U.S. is Tuesday, November 8, 2016
anti-establishment
— opposed to or working against the existing power structure in society or government
Warm up questions ( before watching the video)
- Which two Republican candidates recently suspended their campaigns for the presidency?
- Are you surprised with how well Donald Trump has done in the presidential campaign?
- Can you think of other people in society who are seen as anti-establishment?
Critical thinking questions ( after watching the video)
- Why are some Republicans upset with a Donald Trump nomination enough to burn their voter registration cards?
- Do you agree with Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus that the Republican Party needs to unify more in order to win the presidential race? Explain.
- What will it take for Sen. Bernie Sanders to pull through and win the Democratic nomination? Is he being dismissed too early by his opponents and members of the media?
