With summer coming on, things are starting to get a little clearer in the Presidential Race. Gone are the numerous Republican candidates which we had at the beginning of the year, they have all been replaced by Trump’s dominant campaign.

The Democratic race remains close-ish. Sanders does not trail far behind Clinton in the number of earned delegates; however, Hillary continues to lead in the number of Superdelegates. Sander’s supporters are no doubt hoping for a turnaround of those Superdelegates come convention time, but it is possible that Trump’s nomination will have solidified these delegates on Hillary’s side. The convincing lead that Hillary has in many matchup polls over Trump, now the presumptive nominee, will likely calm any doubts that the Democrats had early on of Hillary being defeated by the Republicans in the general election.

Now that it seems more apparent who the nominees will be on each side (sorry Sanders and Kasich, it really looks like a long shot at this point), it is likely that both Trump and Clinton will pivot more towards the general election. The summer will probably see the battle lines being drawn by both sides.

If the discourse between Rove and Carville at SMU’s Tate lecture is any indication of how the candidates will campaign, then this will likely be a rough one. Trump will ruthlessly attack both Obama’s legacy as President and Hillary Clinton’s character, particularly on the email issue, throughout his campaign.

On the other side, Hillary will likely attack Trump’s character as well –calling him close-minded, racist, “out of date,” and other things of the sort. She will portray Trump as unfit and ill-prepared for the presidency.

This in mind, it seems like we will be sitting through a summer of harsh attacks and a generally rough campaign from both sides. While we may see some more policies discussed come our return to campus in the Fall, it is likely that by then we will be sick of each candidates attacks on the other’s character and preparedness.

Hopefully you will return in the Fall to follow the Campus Weekly’s coverage of the election cycle!