Recent News
Walker leads nationally in new poll
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker leads a tight field of candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, according to a new survey from Public Policy Polling.
Walker is alone in first place in the poll with 17 percent, followed by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at 15 percent, Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) at 13 percent, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 12 percent and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at 11 percent.
Read More >>What Tech Strategy Reveals About the Republican Top Tier
There may be no easier way to flummox operatives or journalists who insist on the importance of “data” and “analytics” in politics than asking them to explain exactly what the words mean to them. Today there is data generated by every arm of a campaign, and opportunities to analyze nearly all of it. Which of those challenges a campaign tries to take on with its limited time and resources can illuminate not only its technological fetishes but its view of the race: What innovations does it need to undertake to win?
Read More >>Clinton’s Top Rivals: Bush, Paul, Rubio
Head-to-head matchups between the top Democratic and Republican candidates don’t mean much this point, but they can provide some clues about which candidates have both sufficient national name recognition and positive perceptions at this point. Bloomberg Politics provides analysis of recent polls in three key “swing” states showing three Republicans, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and current U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Rand Paul, to be competitive with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:
Rubio, Bush, Paul Are Clinton’s Top Opponents ... Read More >>
Who’s left? 2016 field takes shape
When Jeb Bush announces his presidential bid on Monday afternoon, the Republican field to will stand at 11 announced candidates. But the field could grow even further in the coming months, as several others are expected to make the plunge. Here are the biggest names left who have yet to announce their plans:
Read More >>Jeb Bush’s Surprising Struggle With Moderates
It was easy to see Jeb Bush’s path to the Republican nomination when he announced the formation of his super PAC in December. He wasn’t guaranteed to pull it off — not by any stretch — but he seemed well positioned to appeal to the coalition of party elites and blue-state voters that has allowed center-right establishment candidates to win the party’s last two contests.
Read More >>The Iowa straw poll is dead: 7 reasons that matters
If you build it, it turns out that they will not necessarily come.
The Republican Party of Iowa reluctantly but unanimously voted Friday to kill its August straw poll.
Read More >>Three Myths of the 2016 Race
Larry Sabato is one of the more insightful political observers around, and yesterday he and two associates at the University of Virginia Center for Politics took to the pages of Politico to try to refute three items they consider to be myths regarding the 2016 presidential nomination contest. A few excerpts:
Myth #1: The giant Republican field is unpredictable, almost anybody’s game.
With 10 Republican presidential hats in the ring, and perhaps another 10 to come, we all know the GOP is ... Read More >>