In the democratic society we live in, some of the most important decisions that we make as citizens are those related to choosing our president. As the presidential election race runs its course, the results of state primaries choose the candidate for each party, weeding out the weaker politicians from the stronger ones. The results of the most recent primaries, the Iowa Caucus and the New Hampshire primary each reveal the public’s feelings about their candidates and bring to light the voting trends that will decide our nation’s next leader.

The results of the primaries can be separated by the two major political parties, Republicans and Democrats. Each party had its share of surprises throughout the first of the pair of primaries, the Iowa Caucus. The close results of this state primary reveal that the presidential election is by no means decided.

Occurring on February 1, the event was shrouded with controversy involving the Republican frontrunner candidate Donald Trump. In a seemingly childlike outburst, Trump refused to attend a Fox News GOP (Republican Party) debate because of his dislike for the chosen mediator, Fox Reporter Megyn Kelly. He based his boycott of the debate on his claim that Kelly posed unfair questions.

The questions in issue were asked at the first GOP debate in August, where Kelly inquired about his insulting words regarding women. Instead of approaching the debate with professionalism, Trump lashed out in a infantile gesture, bringing to mind the image of a toddler stomping away in a tantrum. This negative publicity will likely hurt his campaign’s efforts in the long run.

Trump’s political blunder opened a power vacuum in the Republican party, and the competition stepped in without losing a beat. Senator Ted Cruz gained the support of Iowa’s large population of Evangelical Christians by referencing his faith heavily. His campaign differed from Trump’s flashy trail of controversy by being far more level-headed. The results speak for themselves, with Cruz winning with 27.6% of delegates compared to Trump’s 24.6%. This political upset in Iowa brings hope to those hoping to avoid the divisive nature of Trump’s leadership.

The Democratic side of the Iowa Caucus showed a similar underdog story. Candidate Hillary Clinton began her campaign in a confident first place, but has recently been challenged by self-proclaimed socialist Bernie Sanders. Sanders has gained popularity with the youth vote with the promise of free college schooling and more aggressive regulation of powerful banking businesses. In the state of Iowa, Clinton and Sanders finished dramatically, with Clinton winning by a slim margin with 49.9% of delegates, and Sanders coming up short with 49.6%. Even by losing in the state of Iowa, Sanders shows promise to continue hounding the progress of Clinton’s campaign.

In the next major primary, it showed clearly whether or not candidates carried their momentum from Iowa. New Hampshire proved to hold new challenges for both the Republican and the Democratic candidates. Turmoil once again came about surrounding the debates leading up to the caucus, bringing about different results than expected.

The New Hampshire primary provided an opportunity to build on his victory for Ted Cruz. He followed up his victory in Iowa with a good showing in the GOP debate leading up the New Hampshire election, staying on message while other candidates squabbled. However, regardless of his verbal prowess in that arena, Trump foiled the efforts of Cruz overall, leading large rallies and events to gain the support of the state. The Republican results came out to 35.3% of delegates supporting Trump, and only 11.7% supporting Cruz. Even Republican moderate candidate John Kasichpassed up Cruz in New Hampshire, leaving him in third.

Even with all of the political sparring and positional swaps that occurred between the Republicans, the Democrats provided the biggest headline in New Hampshire. Sanders seized the momentum by defeating Clinton by a huge margin, 60.4% to 38.0%. This defeat in a state that by many accounts was a Clinton gimme provided a confidence boost to the Sanders campaign, who proved his ability to inspire many around his cause.

With new data from events such as these assaulting the public’s minds seemingly every moment, it is easy to become bogged down with the complicated system by which we elect our president. However, just by analyzing these first two primaries, the current status of candidates can be illuminated. We can learn from these results to predict the opinions of our nation towards our potential future leaders.

From the results surrounding Trump’s journey through these two major political events, we see his nature as a loose cannon finally hurting him. In the past, his unconventional  and unpredictable style has been his greatest asset. Those burned out with the current political system and disappointed with other candidates have been drawn to his less than refined mannerisms. His huge success in New Hampshire proves his ability to draw in crowds with his words. However, those people who jumped on his political bandwagon just because he proves more interesting might jump off if he continues to create more problems like the Megyn Kelly debacle.

Cruz serves as the available Republican option for those who find Trump’s bombastic ways and extreme policies too much to handle. He performs well at most debates, like he did in New Hampshire and Iowa, allowing him to stay in the race beside Trump. However, if he can’t capture the public’s interest, his efforts might come to naught, like they did in New Hampshire. Being the default to Trump won’t be enough to win him the Republican nomination.

Sanders has come as a surprise to the nation, and many rally around the promises he makes to the American people. His movement seems vibrant compared to Clinton’s stagnant campaign, based on his results improving drastically throughout the first two primaries. Clinton loses much of her appeal due to her policies seeming to only repeat those of current President Barack Obama. By being the side that supports change rather than staying the same, Sanders image gains a progressive feeling, drawing in supporters from unsatisfied young people who desire change in the country.

Information from this article was found at The Washington Post and New York Times.

This author can be reached via Twitter: @Andrew_Mooooore and via email: Andrew Moore.