The following lesson activities are based on the article “Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders Win in New Hampshire.”
Before Reading
“The victories by two outsider candidates dealt a remarkable rebuke to the political establishment, and left the race deeply unsettled,” writes The Times at the beginning of this article. Do you understand why?
How are Donald J. Trump and Bernie Sanders both outsiders? Why did their wins in the New Hampshire primaries “unsettle” the race for the presidency?
After Reading
Read the entire article and answer the questions, supporting your responses by citing evidence from the text.
1. Why, according to the analysis in this article, did Donald Trump win?
2. Why, according to the article, did Bernie Sanders win?
3. Why was the wave of support for both men “stunning to leaders of both parties”?
4. What does the success of Ted Cruz in Iowa and Mr. Trump in New Hampshire mean for the Republican Party and party leaders strategizing to win the White House in November?
5. Where does Mr. Sanders’s win leave Hillary Clinton, the only other candidate on the Democratic side?
6. How did Mrs. Clinton’s defeat powerfully capture the way that the Democratic electorate has changed since her husband was governor of Arkansas in the 1980s?
7. Why were New Hampshire’s Republican leaders ” both perplexed and appalled” by Mr. Trump’s win?
Going Further
If the next primaries were in your state and you were eligible to vote, whom would you choose?
If you need help deciding, you might take one of these online quizzes that help show you which candidate most closely shares your beliefs. You can try CNN’s 2016 Candidate Matchmaker or ISideWith.com’s more elaborate Presidential Election 2016 quiz.
Related
Lesson Plan | Election 2016: Understanding Primaries and Caucuses