As November approaches, the upcoming presidential election continues to gain media coverage. Both Democratic and Republican candidates are vying for attention and votes as caucus season begins. However, former Democratic New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced he has contemplated a presidential run.

Bloomberg became involved in politics in the early 2000s with his election as mayor of New York City. Bloomberg, who was mayor of NYC for two terms, succeeded in pushing through state legislation to run for a controversial third term as mayor in 2008. His previous career on Wall Street allowed him to finance all of his mayoral campaigns, including spending almost $90 million on this third.

Now 73, Bloomberg has come into the 2016 presidential race as a possible Independent candidate. This idea of running for president is not new to Bloomberg; he previously considered running, but decided success was too unlikely. However, the popularity of Donald Trump and the contest between Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders has led Bloomberg and his aids to draw a potential plan. Bloomberg officially changed his political status to Independent in 2007, but has held liberal values, such as supporting gun control and abortion rights.

Becoming part of the presidential race this late is Bloomberg’s main concern. He sponsored a poll to gauge how well a third-party candidate would do against Clinton and Trump, a tactic he used when deciding whether to run against Barack Obama in 2008. His aids have designed a campaign consisting of concentrated television advertisements and detailed policy speeches that they believe would work best for the relatively unknown candidate.

Another difficult factor for Bloomberg is the fact that no Independent presidential candidate has ever won the White House. However, he has received an endorsement. Former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has officially come out in support of Bloomberg.

“[Bloomberg] understands governing. He understands leadership. He understands people. He’s got the qualities that are required for the presidency, starting with character,” Hagel said in a phone interview with the New York Times.

There are some who support Bloomberg running as a way to increase the chances of a Republican winning the White House. Senator Rand Paul, a former presidential contender, stated to reporters that a potential Bloomberg bid could split the Democratic vote. The former mayor of NYC has until the first week of March to decide whether or not this presidential election would be favorable for an Independent candidate.

On social issues, Cruz tends to take more conservative positions. For example, he has said that he is in favor of the death penalty, gun rights and is anti-choice. He has denied the existence of global climate change and supported a flat income tax. He has also declared himself an opponent of the joint agreement with Iran and rapprochement with Cuba, despite being of Cuban descent.

Overall, Cruz has had strong political presence in the states of the first four primaries. According to “Politico,” Cruz, though originally seen as a niche candidate, has come to be seen as a viable threat by rival campaigns and is positioned to replace Trump and Ben Carson as a front-runner if either candidate stumbles. He has attempted to appeal to constituencies that traditionally vote Democratic, using his Latino heritage as a platform.

Rubio is the junior senator from Florida but has indicated that, regardless of whether he wins the Republican presidential nomination, he will not run for re-election to the Senate. He was formerly the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives. He announced his candidacy for president April 13, 2014 and is currently third in the polls, with 12.3 percent of the vote.

Rubio is one of the most conservative voters in the Senate, with a ranking of 98.67 from the American Conservative Union. He has stated his support for fewer regulations on businesses and for less government control of environmental issues. He is socially conservative, as well, opposing abortion and certain provisions of the Violence Against Women Act. His immigration voting record is less consistent; while he co-authored the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013, he later opposed its passage through the House of Representatives.

In a 2010 incident, a credit card statement was discovered that seemed to show Rubio using his Republican Party of Florida American Express Card for personal expenses in 2006 and 2007. This issue has been raised again in 2015 as he campaigns. Rubio was cleared of wrongdoing by the Florida Commission of Ethics in 2012 and released the statements in question, which show him personally reimbursing these personal charges in November 2015. Rubio’s conservatism could cause problems when attempting to gain the moderate vote, and his stance on international policy could lose him Tea Party votes.

As the first primaries approach, Rubio has begun to increase fundraising efforts. He is courting the support of several wealthy GOP donors. His background has boosted his platform. Rubio, like Cruz, is of Cuban descent, but Rubio was born in the United States, so questions of nationality are not an issue. His parents were working-class, which has allowed him to attempt to appeal to people of working and middle-class backgrounds.

Though neither in the lead, both of these senators have stayed firmly at the top of the extensive list of GOP candidates, and could be viable nominees for the Republican Party. The next Republican primary debate will air Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015 at 8:00 pm CST on CNN.

As the field of political study and analysis continues to rise with modern demand for meticulous reporting, increasing amounts of information regarding why the population chooses certain candidates over others is being made known to the public. Chief among that information is the fact that past governors won approximately 1/3 of elections since 1972. Even during the primary phase, they are also more likely to outperform senators for party nominations, according to “The New York Times.” Although none of the governors among the candidates for the 2016 nominations are leading in the polls, they maintain a substantial presence. Therefore, they could end up creating an upset in the current standings.

Past and current governors vying for 2016 presidential election include Chris Christie of New Jersey, Mike Huckabee of Arkansas and Jeb Bush of Florida. Other candidates, such as Martin O’Malley of Maryland, Jim Gilmore of Virginia and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, also qualify under this category. However, Christie, Bush and Huckabee tend to receive by far the most media attention. By an overwhelming majority, governors aiming for the presidency in this race have conservative leanings, with only O’Malley running for the Democratic nomination.

Christie, who announced his presidential run June 30, 2015, has a 2 percent rating as of the latest Real Clear Politics polls. He is currently the lowest-ranking of the three, with Huckabee at 3 percent and Bush at 6.5 percent.

Before serving as governor in 2009, Christie was the federal prosecutor for New Jersey from 2002 to 2008. While he strongly favors military expansion, school vouchers and the expansion of free trade, he leans toward moderate conservatism on many issues. For instance, Christie advocates citizenship for illegal immigrants and the potential for marijuana legalization. One reason provided for his low ranking in the polls is that he is considered by some to be too moderate, alienating both Democrats and Republicans in the process. Another reason often cited for his relative lack of support is the controversy in 2014, in which he allegedly closed lanes on the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, N.J. due to the mayor failing to support his re-election campaign.

Huckabee, who also ran for presidential election in 2008 under the Republican Party, announced his 2016 run May 5. He was governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007 and once hosted a Fox News talk show bearing his name. In spite of his high rank, he has been quoted describing himself as a “Washington outsider.”

As such, Huckabee attempts to differentiate himself from the traditional mold of the Senate-bred candidate. Like Christie, he aims to diversify his voting base by catering both to mainline conservatives and blue-collar workers, which has won him great approval in some states, such as Iowa. His most emphasized platforms include religion in the public sphere, advocacy of gun rights and stricter punishment for criminals. Particular controversy has arisen from his views on abortion and gay rights. Huckabee passionately opposes both, which can prove unpalatable to some more moderate potential voters.

Finally, Bush is notable for being the first brother of a president to run for the position since Robert Kennedy in 1968. He announced his campaign June 15. He was governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007 and won election in his home state on a platform including plans for education reform that would serve as a partial basis for the later No Child Left Behind system.

During his time as governor, he was also notable for his effective hurricane preparation and recuperation system, which remedied much of the damage done during four particularly strong storms in 2004. Among his most emphasized platforms include the use of school vouchers and the opposition of higher taxes on the wealthy. Other facets of his campaign center on potential citizenship rights for illegal immigrants and continued outlawing of marijuana. While he has been praised by the media for his Spanish-speaking skills and focus on gaining the Hispanic vote, he has been criticized in equal measure under accusations within his own party of being controlled by large donors. The Associated Press estimates that half of his fundraising came from the same sources that funded his brother and father’s campaigns.

The next Republican debate will be held Nov. 10 at 8 pm CST on the Fox Business Network.

If you take a quick glance at the polls, you may fail to notice his name. If, by chance, you make your way through the crowded GOP field and find yourself lurking at the bottom of the candidate pool, you’ll find him: John Kasich.

Kasich’s candidacy has yet to spark the same curiosity as Trump or Carson’s, but his involvement has caught my attention.

Kasich is a less polarized alternative to the rest of the GOP candidates and has demonstrated a willingness to establish common ground between parties and mediate tough but necessary conversations.

Previously, he served as the U.S. House Budget Committee chairman and worked with Democratic representative Timothy Penny to produce a federal budget. In 1997, Kasich mediated conversations between Clinton and house republicans to establish a balanced budget. In Ohio, he led a similar effort and turned an $8 billion shortage into a $2 billion surplus.

Kasich has been adamant about budget cuts. In previous conversations, his suggestions to focus budget cuts on tax subsidies for farmers and corporate tax breaks were not taken well. But, his mediation and willingness to work across party lines is a quality of Kasich’s that I admire.

In each election, I attempt to vote based on issues, but I generally lean more left because of my focus on addressing income inequality. Kasich addresses income inequality within the framework of a small government.

In 2012 when the US Supreme Court made Medicaid expansion optional for States, Kasich launched a dramatic effort to expand Medicaid in Ohio. He was in a meeting with a legislator, during the expansion of Medicaid under The Affordable Care Act, he said:

“Now, when you die and get to the meeting with St. Peter, he’s probably not going to ask you much about what you did about keeping government small. But he is going to ask you what you did for the poor. You better have a good answer.”

While his expansion of Medicaid was done from a religious perspective, his reasoning and motives were well publicized. Kasich is consistent.

When it looked as if the legislature would not approve the expansion, Kasich announced he would bypass the legislature and deferred to Ohio’s Controlling Board. They passed the expansion.

His commitment to passing the expansion, a move that was not supported by the Republican Party, led Kasich to receive a lot of backlash from members of his own party.

To counter their objections, Kasich referenced conservative figurehead, Ronald Reagan.

“Reagan was fiscally responsible, but he was also pragmatic and compassionate. When we consider what Reagan would do, let’s also remember what he did do – expanded Medicaid,” he said.

Kasich is an advocate for budget cuts but has a sense of moral obligation to ensure the poor are well taken care of. He asks that supporters of small government come up with a way to help the poor and has challenged his party with a task that is not inherently simple. But, his focus on the problem of income inequality in America exemplifies the generosity of Christian values many other Republican candidates claim to hold.

While he may be further behind in the polls, Kasich recognizes what he considers to be the impracticalities of tax plans and budget cuts of those leading the GOP.

“You can’t do it with empty promises. You know, these plans would put us trillions of dollars in debt,” Kasich said.

“We cannot elect somebody that doesn’t know how to do the job,” he said in the third GOP debate.

There are fewer than 100 days until the first primary in Iowa, and Kasich has some serious ground to pick up in order to not be lost among the myriad of candidates. However, as long as the American people recognize that Kasich is an experienced politician with a feasible plan, there is still a fighting chance.