Recent News

California donors still not sold on Jeb Bush

When Jeb Bush launched a presidential super PAC earlier this year, he got a jump on the competition and quickly positioned himself as the establishment wing front-runner.

But his fundraising trip to California this week shows he’s a long way from being the clear choice for conservative establishment money. Bush hasn’t laid the same groundwork there that Mitt Romney did in his two runs, faces stiffer competition for dollars and donors aren’t yet convinced he can defeat Hillary Clinton.

Sorry, “Elizabeth Warren for President” holdouts.

The U.S. senator from Massachusetts on Tuesday dealt another blow to supporters — and rivals on the right — hoping she’ll enter the 2016 race, repeating her intention to stay on the sidelines.

With their presidential competitors in the Senate silenced by a break until mid-April, the governors eyeing the White House can flex their executive muscles.

Last week, for example, while the Senate spent hours debating and voting on budget amendments, New Jersey’s Chris Christie held a town hall meeting answering voters’ questions about state pensions. Wisconsin’s Scott Walker signed two bills into law.

Ohio Governor Kasich Seriously Considers Presidential Run

Republican Gov. John Kasich said Monday he’ll decide soon whether to make a run for the White House in 2016, saying he knows he would need to act swiftly to raise money and organize a campaign.

He said he’s trying to decide, “Is this what the Lord really wants me to do with my life?”

Jeb Bush, Scott Walker lead competitive GOP presidential field in New Hampshire

Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush are leading a competitive GOP presidential race in New Hampshire, which hosts the first-in-the-nation primary contest, according to a presidential poll released this week.

Mr. Walker and Mr. Bush each carried 15 percent of the respondents in the Franklin Pierce University/Boston Herald poll of likely voters.

They were followed by Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, 13 percent; New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, 10 percent,; and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, 7 percent.

The slow walk of candidates declaring they are running for president took another step forward on Monday with Senator Marco Rubio saying he plans to make a “big announcement” in a couple of weeks.

Mr. Rubio, a Florida Republican, confirmed reports that supporters should plan on being in Miami on April 13.

Here are the real Republican primaries

Texas Senator Ted Cruz has become the first Republican to eschew the phony “exploratory” phase and announce an actual presidential campaign. Rand Paul is apparently next. But as every political pooh-bah knows, the 2016 presidential contest has been underway for months, maybe even years. As this is written, in fact, several hotly contested GOP primaries already have commenced—primaries that will go a long way toward determining the Republican nominee, despite the painfully quaint notion that the voters of Iowa and New Hampshire will get the “first” say.