Recent News

Ron Paul supporters bolt Rand camp

As he pulls together his expected presidential campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire, Sen. Rand Paul is confronted by defections from an unexpected quarter: the die-hard idealists whose energy powered his father’s campaigns.

That network of committed supporters was expected to convey to Paul, the natural successor to Ron Paul’s libertarian movement, providing him with a plug-and-play ground organization in the make-or-break early voting states. But instead of embracing the Kentucky senator, many of those grass-roots activists are turning their backs on him, disillusioned by the younger Paul’s concessions to mainstream politics.

Paul Courts Christian Conservatives

When he announced his candidacy for president this week, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, made a strenuous bid for support from Christian conservatives. But one of Cruz’s rivals, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is taking a different route to court the same constituency – waging an aggressive behind-the-scenes campaign rather than emphasizing a dramatic public appeal, and his aides say it will eventually pay big dividends.

For many months, Paul has been quietly meeting with scores of leaders from the Christian right to gain support for his presidential campaign, which he is expected to officially announce April 7. Some of the meetings have been held during dinner in the Senate dining room; other sessions have been in Paul’s Senate office, and still others have been conducted while he traveled outside Washington.

Five ‘Lanes’ in GOP Nomination Contest?

Phillip Bump has an intriguing analysis of the 2016 GOP nomination battle over at the Washington Post, arguing there are basically five ‘lanes’ in the contest that the different candidates are competing in. Huckabee and Santorum, for example, are seen as the two candidates expected to challenge each other for dominance in the ‘Evangelical’ lane (although others will certainly try to grab some of that vote as well).

The 2016 GOP presidential race, broken down into 5 ‘lanes’

Ted Cruz, we argued ... Read More >>

Rand Paul, reacting to Ted Cruz, talks ‘winnability’

Rand Paul on Monday, in his first extensive comments since Ted Cruz officially announced his presidential candidacy, made the case that he’s the electable Republican candidate.

The Kentucky senator, hours after his Senate colleague jumped into the presidential race, suggested his more inclusive vision for the Republican Party makes him a more appealing general-election candidate.

“Ted Cruz is a conservative. But it also goes to winnability,” Paul said on Fox News’ “The Kelly File.”

Texas Senator Ted Cruz will be the first candidate to formally declare his candidacy for president in 2016, with an announcement scheduled for today, March 23. The Houston Chronicle reports:

Ted Cruz to announce presidential bid Monday

Sen. Ted Cruz plans to announce Monday that he will run for president of the United States, accelerating his already rapid three-year rise from a tea party insurgent in Texas into a divisive political force in Washington.

Cruz will launch a presidential bid outright rather than ... Read More >>

The dash for cash is on among Republicans considering a run for president in 2016, and Jeb Bush and other Republican governors have a huge advantage over the senators in the race because of campaign finance law.

It’s hard to miss the evidence that the 2016 presidential race is already well underway. We have plenty of ambitious politicians raising lots of money, hiring staff, opening field offices, doing interviews, taking subtle jabs at rivals, and spending an inordinate amount of time in Iowa and New Hampshire. Pollsters are conducting surveys; news organizations are scheduling debates; and various groups are organizing straw polls. For all intents and purposes, the race is on.