Americans may not have decided on who they want in the White House in 2016, but the latest polls prove that voters don’t want another career politician.

Business mogul Donald Trump, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson are leading the herd of GOP candidates as the few candidates who come from non-political backgrounds.

Traditionally, candidates’ substantial political experience has been a determining factor in elections. However, the American people are waking up and realizing that electing a member of the political elite to office will do more harm than good.

This trend is the result of the current political landscape straying away from the core value to do what is best for the people. This degradation is characterized by politicians going into office, enthusiastic about making positive change, only to lose that mindset. It has become too common for leaders to get lost in Washington politics as their main goal becomes maintaining their position of power.

Carly Fiorina’s surge in the polls post-debate is the perfect example of the American people looking to stop this pattern in its tracks. A few months ago, she was trailing behind just about everyone – polling a solid one percent in the national polls. Now, she is polling in second place with 15 percent, followed by Carson with 14 percent.

Love her, hate her, say what you want about her, Fiorina was clearly a shining star at last Wednesday’s GOP debate, which is particularly noteworthy considering she is new to politics. Her performance was a major contributor to her jump in the polls, as she surprised both liberals and conservatives with her clear, concise and articulate answers – and not to mention, her shutdown of Donald Trump.

This was her chance to show the country what she has to offer as the only woman vying for the Republican nomination, and the political outsider did not miss her opportunity to shine.

Being a Washington newcomer has almost become the latest fad in the race to the White House. Candidates Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D) have attempted to label themselves as such, despite the obvious: they’re not.

This isn’t to say that voters should support candidates with no experience or credentials whatsoever. While political outsiders may not have numerous government positions on their resumes, they have applicable real-world experience and skills that could prove useful throughout their possible presidential tenure.

We are a nation by the people, for the people, but career politicians tend to forget that. Going back to our country’s founding, the political template used to govern today was not created by members of the exclusive political class, but by public-spirited citizens advocating for a better country.

Voters should keep these values in mind when casting their ballots in 2016.

Vanessa Salman is a junior political science major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at vksalman@syr.edu and followed on Twitter @VanessaSalman.

Published on September 23, 2015 at 12:02 am