Recent News

Rand Paul’s all-too-familiar campaign

The 2016 Republican presidential race was supposed to go something like this for Rand Paul: He would assume the mantle of his father’s libertarian movement, broaden it by bringing in new constituencies and compete on an expanded map. He would be the candidate to take the liberty message to the mainstream, something Ron Paul could never achieve.

If the story of Eric Cantor is to be used as a cautionary tale, Rand Paul should be aware that a candidate’s home state electorate is not always forgiving when it comes to national ambitions.

USA TODAY GOP Power Rankings: Trump back on top

Perhaps the reports of Donald Trump’s collapse were premature.

The Donald returns to the top spot in our Power Rankings this week.

Only four out of 15 Republican candidates have released their fundraising totals so far (and one of those looks more like an unauthorized leak). Campaigns usually are quick to get their numbers out – they certainly know roughly what their totals look like within a day or two of the end of the reporting period – suggesting perhaps many of them are simply delaying bad news.

Fundraising totals for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio have come out ... Read More >>

Rand Paul announces endorsements from across Iowa

Presidential candidate Rand Paul on Monday announced an “Iowa leadership team” featuring endorsements from all 99 counties in the state and a handful of statewide Republican leaders.

Rand Paul’s long, hard week of explaining why his campaign isn’t over

If Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has his way, this will be the last week for a while when he can say he’s still running for president and see that statement reported as news. On Monday, he was fending off a quote from anonymous “GOP strategist” who said he might drop out soon; on Tuesday, it was Donald Trump, a preternaturally talented taunter, who said Paul might quit.

At 27 percent, nationally Donald Trump maintains his frontrunner status among Republican primary voters, but Ben Carson is now closely behind him. Carson’s support has risen significantly since early August, when he polled at six percent. Carson is now at 23 percent, putting him in second place.