This is an opinion article and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Tulane Hullabaloo.

This election cycle has been an unusual one from start to finish. It has been groundbreaking on many accounts, but at the end of the day, we must mobilize as a community and vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton or Republican Donald Trump, or a third party candidate like Gary Johnson or Jill Stein.

Early Primary

In November 2014, Virginia Senator Jim Webb formed an exploratory committee for a possible run for office. Many Republican candidates would follow suit in the next few months.

In March of 2015, former Commissioner of Internal Revenue Mark Everson was first to announce his candidacy.

In all, 22 Republicans ran for office.

Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley ran as Democratic candidates.

Debates

The Republican candidates first faced off against each other in August 2016, a full six months before the first caucus. Fox News allowed the 10 top candidates to debate: Trump, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Chris Christie and John Kasich. Carly Fiorina joined for the next debate.

All three Democratic candidates debated, though Clinton and Sanders were most popular.

Primaries

The first caucus was held Feb. 1. Clinton and Cruz won.

Cruz and Trump won most Republican primaries and caucuses and Clinton won more Democratic contests than Sanders.

The electoral votes were close, but Trump and Clinton pulled ahead.

Conventions

The Republican National Convention took place in Cleveland, Ohio. Trump and running mate Mike Pence accepted the nomination.

Before the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, WikiLeaks released 20,000 emails showing the Democratic National Committee’s bias towards Clinton over Sanders all along. Nevertheless, at the convention, Clinton and running mate Tim Kaine receive the nomination as well as an endorsement from Sanders.

General Election

Trump and Clinton are running as the Republican and Democratic candidates, Jill Stein and Gary Johnson as third-party candidates for the Green Party and Libertarian Party respectively.

Trump and Clinton faced off in several debates. Neither Stein nor Johnson received 15 percent in polls needed to qualify.

October Surprises

With about a month left before the election, footage of Trump describing sexually assaulting a married woman was leaked. This leak led to protests of his sexist antics and a major decrease in support.

On Clinton’s end, the scandal of the Clinton mail server she used as Secretary of State was revisited. The Federal Bureau of Investigation found emails that were not released in Clinton’s investigation while investigating former congressman Anthony Weiner. Weiner’s wife and Vice Chairwoman of Clinton’s campaign Huma Abedin had been in contact with Clinton.

November

With less than a week left, it is clear that this election is one-of-a-kind. It has been laden with scandal and insult, served as the content for many memes and has left much of Americans disillusioned.

That being said, it is essential that every eligible voter utilizes their constitutional right and casts a vote this Tuesday.

Sarah is a sophomore at Newcomb-Tulane College. She can be reached at [email protected].