The day America had been waiting for is finally here. It’s November 8, 2016, and right now, America is voting into office the 45th President of the United States.

After more than nineteen months, since Ted Cruz became the first person to announce his candidacy, the country has finally arrived at this day and has seen some very tense political action. The field of candidates for the two major parties, Democrats and Republicans, had once been twenty-three candidates strong, with six Democrats and seventeen Republicans. The seventeen Republicans were the largest presidential primary field of candidates for any party in American history. Today that number stands at only two: Donald Trump for the Republicans and Hillary Clinton for the Democrats. Trump and Clinton’s running mates are Indiana governor Mike Pence and Virginia senator Tim Kaine respectively.

Clinton has had a long history of politics that dates back to almost forty years ago. Her political positions have included, in order, First Lady of Arkansas, First Lady of the United States, Senator from New York, and Secretary of State. In stark contrast, Trump, the chairman of the Trump Organization, has no political or military experience. The last nominee to have this distinction was Wendell Willkie, the Republican nominee in 1940.

Regardless of what happens, history was already made with this election when Hillary Clinton became the first female nominee for either the Democratic or Republican parties. If Clinton were elected, she would be the first female president in American history, and if Trump were elected, he would be the first president with no political or military experience. He would also be the oldest president to take office at age 70.

The road to this day for the two candidates was long and brutal. Both have faced controversy for a number of things. Trump’s policies, his treatment of his fellow candidates during the primaries, and his remarks, both on social media and verbal, are only a few. He was also known to throw any protesters out of his rallies if they spoke up against him. Recently, he has called “the system” rigged and claims that the media is biased against him. He has even said that he might not accept the results of the election if he loses. But perhaps the biggest controversy was when, a month ago, an audio was released of Trump and Billy Bush having “an extremely lewd conversation about women.” Trump offered the first apology of his campaign in the aftermath.

As for Clinton, she has been using Trump’s controversy as a way of showing that he is not fit to be president. Although not as controversial as Trump, Clinton does have some controversy hanging over her head. Her use of a private email account during her tenure as Secretary of State is still being scrutinized three years after she left office, and Trump is using the scandal to say Clinton is unfit to be president. Many people think she belongs in prison, and Trump has even promised to have a special prosecutor look into the case once he wins. The FBI even opened an investigation into the emails but found no reason to indict Clinton in July. When a new batch of emails surfaced in the last few months, the FBI reopened the investigation, but again found no reason to indict Clinton.

Another setback for Clinton is the fact that many of her emails and Democratic National Committee emails were leaked onto the Internet and sites like WikiLeaks. The ongoing theory is that Russia is behind the hack and that the purpose is to ensure that Trump, who has praised Russian president Vladimir Putin in the past, is elected president in this country.

At LTHS many students have taken sides in the campaign since some of them will be or already have voted today. LTHS senior student Nik Evans is a major Trump supporter who says that he likes Trump because of his stance on major issues.

“I think he was the only candidate, Democrat or Republican, that really believes in America, and he’s running because he thinks that he can make a difference,” Evans says.

Evans also weighed in on Trump’s successful run for the nomination of the Republican Party, as well as the firestorm of controversy that surrounds Trump, saying, “He’s had this presidential race in mind for over twenty years, so I think he had a solid plan as to how to do it. I do think that some of the controversy surrounding him is his fault because he isn’t politically correct, but I think he’s saying this stuff to get more publicity and more attention on the news.”

Evans also said that he supports Trump because he “doesn’t want Clinton anywhere near the White House.”

As for LTHS sophomore student Leah Hearne, she is exactly the opposite of Evans. To her, the idea of a President Trump is unbearable. “He can’t be trusted to run this country,” she says.

Hearne has supported Clinton since the beginning based on this belief, regardless of the email controversy that surrounds her.

As for LTHS senior student Kevin (he requested to have his last name withheld), he doesn’t think either candidate is fit to be president, but he would rather have Trump in the White House than Clinton.

As voters head to the polls, Clinton has an advantage in the general election. Of the six most-populated states in the country, four – California, New York, Illinois, and Pennsylvania – have voted Democratic for the last six elections. Polls in these states show Clinton leading Trump; however, a major battleground state is Florida. In the third-most populous state in the nation, Trump leads Clinton by only .03%. As for nationwide polls, the majority show Clinton with the lead, but Trump does lead a few.

We conducted our own poll on the Porter Press Website, and at the beginning of Election Day Clinton led Trump by one vote. By the time the school day ended, however, Trump had taken the lead. The poll, currently with seventy-six votes, shows Trump leading Clinton by five votes 36-31. Six people voted for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, and three people voted for Green party candidate Jill Stein.

The Porter Press will announce the winner of the election on Wednesday morning.