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A different way to slice the GOP race

It’s a commonplace to say that the Republican presidential contest, with its vast field, consists of races within a race. Pre-Trump, we could discern three sub-races — conservative, moderate-conservative, and evangelical.

It was the most significant week yet in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

Tech executive Carly Fiorina’s hopes rose—along with her poll numbers, fundraising, and crowd counts—after a masterful performance at the GOP’s first debate, albeit a breakout showing for the also-ran candidates who trailed in public polling.

Kasich Moving Up

Less than a month ago, the main question regarding Ohio Gov. John Kasich was whether he would qualify for one of the 10 slots available to GOP candidates for the first debate, which was held in his home state of Ohio. Now, as Politico reports, he’s surging in the polls in New Hampshire and posing a direct challenge to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush for one of the top spots in the field:

Kasich putting the squeeze on Jeb

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You’ve already heard a lot of different takes about who won and who lost the first Republican presidential debates last week. We’ve deliberately waited to name names; winning the media spin after a debate is often more important than “winning” the debate itself. But now it’s been several days, and we have some post-debate polls to look at (seven as of this writing, to be exact).¹ And there are a few clear winners and losers.

Before Fox News premiered a Republican debate last week, Bobbie Kilberg, one of Chris Christie’s biggest evangelists and bundlers, dialed up roughly a dozen potential donors. She wanted them to make a pledge.

Who Will Republicans Come Around to in 2016?

This is the quadrennial Republican silly season, when candidates without a prayer of election get their moments in the limelight, sometimes topping the polls before crashing.