Recent News

Santorum — More Credibility, Less Vest in 2016?

Rick Santorum is considering a comeback presidential bid in 2016. But his vintage sweater vest is mulling retirement.

The former Pennsylvania senator says his teenage daughters are now the arbiters of his fashion choices and “are particular about how their dad decides to leave the house.”

But so, too, are his political advisers who, while they might agree that sweater vest isn’t exactly the new black, are more interested in getting the likely candidate to appear less hokey and more presidential-like a candidate who won 11 primary states last time around.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry had all the trappings of a formidable candidate, even a frontrunner, when he jumped into the 2012 Republican presidential primary.

He’d built a strong, conservative track record during 12 years as governor of the country’s largest red state. Unlike some other conservative candidates who’d caught fire that year, he had a deep network of donors and close ties to the GOP establishment. And unlike Mitt Romney, the cycle’s establishment favorite, Perry also had an easy rapport with the Republican base.

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.

Most presidential candidates run on what they’ve accomplished. Senator Ted Cruz, on the other hand, plans to tout his efforts in keeping laws from being passed.

The Texas lawmaker gained notoriety for helping shut down the government in 2013 in an attempt to defund Obamacare. Now, Cruz plans to argue that he also played a pivotal role in rallying Republicans against a Senate compromise on immigration policy and quashing a bipartisan bill to expand firearms background checks, according to his advisers.

Addressing young Democrats in N.H., O’Malley decries influence of ‘ultra-wealthy’

Former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley sharpened his populist rhetoric as he addressed a group of young Democrats here Tuesday night, telling them that politics “is not the exclusive domain of the ultra-wealthy.”

Bobby Jindal builds an Iowa team

Republican Bobby Jindal is putting together an Iowa team, digging in for a possible presidential bid even as other GOP stars sail past him in the polls.

Jindal, a Christian conservative, is one of the last Republican 2016 contenders to hire strategists who would orchestrate a campaign here if they decide to run.

Swing-state poll shows ‘red flag’ for Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton appears to have been damaged by revelations about her email use and is not seen as honest or trustworthy by about half of voters in three key states, according to a new poll.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday compares the former secretary of state with potential Republican candidates in swing states Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio.