20 Republicans who are gearing up to run for president

[Suzanimal]

Wow...

Get ready for the largest GOP presidential field in recent history.

As many as 20 Republicans are taking a serious look at running for the White House in 2016. A handful of candidates have moved aggressively into the field, and others are expected to ramp up in the coming weeks, with several announcements expected in April.

Recent races haven’t attracted such a large and unsettled field before, and time is sure to winnow the contenders before the first debate in August 2015.

In 2011, as many as nine Republicans participated in one early debate. The field of declared candidates in that cycle was never greater than 10 at any one time.

Here are the 20 Republicans likely to make a run for the GOP nomination.

Jeb Bush: The former Florida governor is all but running, with recent trips to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina in the books. The establishment frontrunner has been building a political team and vacuuming up support from major donors.

Scott Walker: The Wisconsin governor has been aggressive on the attack in the early stages, and his burgeoning campaign appears well-positioned to compete for the long-haul.

Rand Paul: The Kentucky senator is likely to announce his presidential campaign on April 7. The libertarian favorite has been crafting a campaign focused heavily on technology, while test-driving a message aimed at young voters and minorities.

Marco Rubio: With buzz growing in conservative circles, the Florida senator has put together a top-flight political team made up of 2012 Mitt Romney alums, and may have landed a billionaire backer.

Chris Christie: It’s been a rough first few months for the New Jersey governor but he’s returned to his wheelhouse — the town-hall meetings where shines. It could help him regain stride, and Republicans say his political skills should not be underestimated.

Ben Carson: The retired neurosurgeon and grassroots conservative favorite is within striking distance of the frontrunners in most polls, but verbal gaffes still trip him up.

Mike Huckabee: The former Arkansas governor left a comfortable gig at Fox News to explore another presidential run and is expected to pull heavily from the same base of evangelical voters as he did in 2008.

Ted Cruz: The Texas senator has been supplementing his trips to the early states with mainstream media engagements, where he continues to relish the role of conservative agitator.

Rick Perry: With nothing to lose after his 2012 flop, the former Texas governor now seems like a happy warrior on the trail. He’ll likely be more formidable this time with a solid donor base and a sharper message focused on foreign policy.

Lindsey Graham: The South Carolina senator has impressed crowds in early-voting states with his candor, ease and confidence. The early focus on foreign policy is in his wheelhouse, but he still isn’t near the top tier.

John Kasich: The Ohio governor is popular in conservative circles and brings added heft from a critical battleground state. This week, conservative writer George Will wrote a column encouraging Kasich to jump in, saying he would add “spirit” and “spice.”

Bobby Jindal: The Louisiana governor is doing everything he can to keep his name in the race, burnishing a reputation as a social conservative firebrand and policy wonk in speeches across the country.

Rick Santorum: 
The former Pennsylvania senator and 2012 runner-up’s moment appears to have come and gone. At the Iowa Ag Summit earlier this month, he seemed surprised by the small group of reporters he attracted.

Carly Fiorina: The former Hewlett Packard CEO has moved early and aggressively into the presidential field. As the only woman candidate, she adds diversity to the field, and the wealthy businesswoman could self-fund a campaign for as long as she wants.

John Bolton: The former UN ambassador’s bid would largely be predicated on his hawkish foreign policy bona fides. He’s the only potential candidate that supports gay marriage, which could endear him to a select group of wealthy GOP donors.

Peter King: The New York congressman has said he wants to make sure that his nemeses in the Senate — Paul and Cruz — don’t control the discourse.

George Pataki: The former New York governor has been travelling to early voting states. Like Christie, Pataki has trumpeted his record as a Republican governor in a blue state.

Jim Gilmore: The former Virginia governor says he’s seriously considering another presidential run, but it’s hard to see his place in the field. Gilmore briefly ran for president in 2008, but dropped out early. Later that year he was crushed by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) in the race for Senate.

Bob Ehrlich: The former Maryland governor has been to New Hampshire a handful of times this year and has quietly met with donors and party leaders to gauge support for a potential bid.

Mark Everson: The former IRS commissioner became the first Republican presidential candidate to officially enter the field earlier this month, releasing a four-and-a-half minute long video and 16-page document vowing to turn the country around. But virtually no one knows who he is. http://www.markforamerica.com/

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/236476-20-republicans-wholl-run-for-president

 

[Brian4Liberty]

In 2011, as many as nine Republicans participated in one early debate. The field of declared candidates in that cycle was never greater than 10 at any one time.

Well, the good news is that in a normal year, the establishment media would adjust the debate criteria to exclude a candidate they don't like. Next year they will leave it wide open to ensure that they can keep Lindsey Graham, Peter King, Carly Fiorina and maybe Bolton up on the stage. Fiorina is the Jon Huntsman of this cycle. The establishment will push her no matter how little support she gets from actual voters.

 

[acptulsa]

'If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit.'--Anonymous

They're so fascinated with overkill that they're going a slightly different direction. They're so afraid Rand Paul will dazzle us with brilliance that they're backing up the trucks and preparing to bury us in bullshit.

 

[Suzanimal]

2016 GOP Primary Madness: Sweet Sixteen

Let the 'Sweet Sixteen' begin! The polls will be open until Monday, March 23th. If there are any problems with the voting, please leave a comment, or email me - See more at: http://www.muskogeepolitico.com/201...dness-sweet-sixteen.html#sthash.yeOVlDyW.dpuf

 

[Vanguard101]

I haven't heard of the last 4 and Bolton until right now. I didn't even know who Fiorina was until 2015. What the hell

 

[francisco]

Voted in the poll linked to by Suz (shown below).

More votes in Rand's bracket (Division "D") than the others. Rand is leading that bracket (~72% vs. ~28% for Jindal)

Go to "the dashboard" after you vote to see interesting state-by-state statistics. We need more votes in my state of Oregon and some others too!

 

[juleswin]

Jan Brewer over Chris Christie?
That alone tells me this whole bracket is a hoax

 

[Mr.NoSmile]

Send in the clowns.

 

[Krugminator2]

What's funny about Fiorina is that she plays up her business experience. If you Google her, she is rated one of the worst CEOs of a major company in American history. And the articles go back to the early 2000's before she got into politics so it isn't based on a political bias. Here is an example. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/americas-worst-ceos-where-are-they-now/

 

[francisco]

Need more Rand votes in AK, OR, CO, SD, OH, VT, to turn the state-by state map (shown in "dashboard") 100% for Rand

 

[cindy25]

Well, the good news is that in a normal year, the establishment media would adjust the debate criteria to exclude a candidate they don't like. Next year they will leave it wide open to ensure that they can keep Lindsey Graham, Peter King, Carly Fiorina and maybe Bolton up on the stage. Fiorina is the Jon Huntsman of this cycle. The establishment will push her no matter how little support she gets from actual voters.

Fiorina does not expect to win the nomination, neither does Ben Carson. they are running for VP, and would have to be considered as the VP will probably be either female or minority. Rubio might also fit into this category

 

[acptulsa]

What's funny about Fiorina is that she plays up her business experience. If you Google her, she is rated one of the worst CEOs of a major company in American history. And the articles go back to the early 2000's before she got into politics so it isn't based on a political bias. Here is an example. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/americas-worst-ceos-where-are-they-now/

Those who can, do.

Those who can't, lobby.

Or just run for office like George Romney, Nash's worst president.

I think we just learned something about Tom Vilsack...

 

[PAF]

For the newbies and others visiting this site, most of the potential candidates records are here:

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showth...-Presidential-Candidates-List-And-Information

Vote the Record, Not the Rhetoric

 

[francisco]

Muskogee Elimination Poll originally linked by Suz now down to the "Elite Eight"! Vote Now!!

http://www.muskogeepolitico.com/2015/03/2016-gop-primary-madness-elite-eight.html

After a bit of a shaky start, Rand is now leading Sarah Palin by about 72% to 28%.

Once again, this particular match-up is earning significantly more votes than the other races.

As a suggested strategy, in the other match-ups (not the Rand vs. Palin vote), vote not for the candidate you would prefer, but instead for the candidate who you perceive would be weaker against Rand in the final contest.

 

[acptulsa]

As a suggested strategy, in the other match-ups (not the Rand vs. Palin vote), vote not for the candidate you would prefer, but instead for the candidate who you perceive would be weaker against Rand in the final contest.

Have you forgotten who you're talking to?

Folks, we're libertarians. We're actually conservative. We know what's bad for the tyrants and good for the people. Anyone you like, Fox hates. Just vote for the best and go on.

 

[TheTexan]

As a suggested strategy, in the other match-ups (not the Rand vs. Palin vote), vote not for the candidate you would prefer, but instead for the candidate who you perceive would be weaker against Rand in the final contest.

Yes, if we vote smart we can actually multiply our votes into a number that can win

 

[JohnGalt1225]

Most of those 20 are joke candidates with the same shot at being president as I have. What is the point of Lindsey Graham running? What constituency does he represent? There are plenty of neocons and chicken hawks already in the race.

Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are faux-libertarians who will only distract from real pro-liberty candidates. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are male Hispanic versions of Michele Bachmann or Sarah Palin, the media portrays them as "Tea Party" candidates who are "anti-establishment" and pro-liberty when in reality they are not. Those are the candidates that bother me the most because a portion of liberty minded voters who might otherwise vote for Rand are going to vote for Rubio or Cruz because they'll fall for the rhetoric. At least it is easier to draw a distinction between Rand and Jeb Bush or Lindsey Graham no matter how deplorable I find them to be.

 

[Ronin Truth]

And the very fortunate 19 that WON'T get it.

 

[francisco]

Let the 'Final Four' begin!

The polls will be open until Tuesday, March 31st.

Click on "See Detailed Results" underneath each poll for a map of the voting by state.

http://www.muskogeepolitico.com/2015/03/2016-gop-primary-madness-final-four.html

The Elite Eight of our 2016 GOP Primary Madness has come to a close, and here are the results (with links for state-by-state details on the voting):

Division 'A'
1. Scott Walker (66%) vs. 2. Marco Rubio (34%)

Division 'B'
2. Ted Cruz (67%) vs. 4. Ben Carson (33%)

Division 'C'
4. John Kasich (41%) vs. 7. Jan Brewer (59%)

Division 'D'
1. Sarah Palin (36%) vs. 2. Rand Paul (64%)


7-seed Jan Brewer once again defeated a higher-ranked opponent, this time 4-seed Ohio Governor John Kasich (59%-41%). 567 votes were cast in that matchup, all states except DE, MT, and WY. 622 votes were cast in Division A, with 641 in Division B-- both had votes from every state except DE and WY.

Division D has the greatest amount of votes cast, at 931, from every state except Wyoming. As with the previous round, several pro-Sarah Palin and pro-Rand Paul sites got involved. I received some emails from individuals in both camps, complaining of "voter fraud" by the other side. The settings on the polls I use restrict voting to one-vote-per-IP-address; however, "where there's a will, there's a way", and if someone is determined enough to try, they usually can find a way around the "rules". That said, this is an unscientific poll done for fun, so just relax.

'Final Four' voting will start shortly.

UPDATE: Vote in the Final Four here.

http://www.muskogeepolitico.com/2015/03/2016-gop-primary-madness-final-four.html

 

[NewRightLibertarian]

I don't think 6 or 7 of the people on this list will run. Still, there are many contenders and it will be interesting.