As the road through the Republican Primaries continues, three names often stick out: Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Donald Trump. For the most part, Trump has received the most attention, but is someone else moving into the spotlight?

At the Iowa Caucuses, Cruz beat out Trump, with Rubio coming in third. According to The New York Times, about 28 percent voted for Cruz, 24 percent for Trump, and 23 percent for Rubio (with 98 percent of the precincts in Iowa reporting). These three candidates are all seemingly close together based on these results. What is surprising is that Rubio finished one percent behind Trump in Iowa.

However, one state’s caucus results does not tell what will happen in every state. It does show that there could be a potential for some very close results among Republican voters.

This was a good victory for Cruz, who received a lot of ridicule from not only Trump, but Republican leaders in Washington saying that he would lead us into disaster if elected. He was four percent higher than Trump, and five percent ahead of Rubio.

According to The Times, Rubio waited until the last minute to begin actually competing in Iowa. He did not start really campaigning in Iowa until January, which is not a great tactic. He did not give himself enough time to gain enough popularity in the state to win the caucus.

The article also makes it seem like Rubio is piggy-backing on some of Cruz’s ideology. Cruz, son of a pastor, has used this background to win over Christian conservatives. Rubio also began trying to win over this group as well, mentioning “the free gift of Salvation offered to us by Jesus Christ” in an ad. Is Rubio a copycat of Cruz?

The most popular of candidates has to be the infamous Trump. Boisterous and brazen, Trump has gained both a lot of popularity and criticism, especially through social media. The New York Times recently broke down Trump’s social media behavior in “Donald Trump’s Twitter Insults: The Complete List (So Far).”

Receiving the highest amounts of insults were running mates Rubio and Cruz. Trump also had a lot of disagreements with FOX News Anchor Megyn Kelly, even to the point where he skipped a G.O.P. debate moderated by Kelly.

Even without Trump physically present in that debate, he was certainly not forgotten. Trump was mocked by Rubio and Cruz, with as much drama on the debate floor as off it. Mentioning him throughout the debate shows the impact he has had throughout the race.

After the Iowa caucuses, Trump boasted, believing he won. However, he came in second to Cruz. Seeming to be a sore loser, Trump used the media to make allegations that Cruz and his campaign team told voters Monday evening that Dr. Ben Carson dropped out of the presidential race.

Cruz fired back at Trump’s attacks, calling his statements a “Trumper tantrum,” and stating that electing Trump with his temperament would not be good for America.

Some students at AIC are not big fans of Trump. Junior Megan Stewardson, describes her opinion on the subject.

“Truthfully, I do not believe Trump is well-suited to run our country,” she states. “I believe the other candidates are much more qualified than he is.”

AIC Junior, Marisa Najarian, has strong, negative feelings toward the G.O.P. front-runner.

“If he is elected President, I am fleeing the country!” Najarian bluntly stated.

But in the New Hampshire primary — the next big stop on the campaign trail — Trump was victorious with about 35 percent of the vote.

Cruz finished third (behind John Kasich) with 11.7 percent, while Rubio slumped down to fifth behind Bush with only 10.6 percent.

Ironically enough, the top finishers of the Iowa caucus had never ran for office, with two first-term senators. Anyone with office experience, the five current and/or former governors, combined won 8 percent of the vote.

So does experience really matter? Stay tuned in to the polls to find out!