Tommy Tuberville welcomes Nikki Haley to 2024 presidential race
On Monday, former South Carolina Governor and UN ambassador Nikki Haley announced her candidacy for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, who has already announced his endorsement of former President Donald Trump, welcomed Haley’s entrance into the 2024 presidential race. Tuberville told reporters that she would be a “great candidate.” Tuberville favors a large GOP primary field and said that he has recently spoken with Trump and told the former President that he hopes “they all get in.” “He needs the challenge as well as anybody,” Tuberville said. “They need to work for it. They need to fight for it.” In the 2020 election, President Trump endorsed Tuberville in his Republican primary battle for U.S. Senate with former Trump Attorney General Sen. Jeff Sessions. Tuberville had spent forty years as a teacher and coach – including stints as head football coach at Ole Miss, Auburn, Texas Tech, and Cincinnati – prior to that 2020 first run for public office. At this point, the only announced GOP candidates for the Republican nomination for 2024 are Haley and Trump, but that is expected to change quickly. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are widely believed to be seriously looking at entering the race. According to the Hill, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin are also possible presidential candidates. GOP Senators who oppose a third Trump presidential run fear that a crowded GOP primary field makes it easier for Trump to emerge as the eventual GOP nominee. “Look, we were all concerned with the fact that we had 15 or 16 or 17 individuals vying for attention in the last one,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (South Dakota) told the Hill referring to the 2016 election. “We really don’t want to see that happen again. We just don’t.” U.S. Sen. Katie Britt was endorsed by Trump in her 2022 GOP primary battle with then-Congressman Mo Brooks and war veteran and defense contractor Mike Durant. Britt, however, cannot make an endorsement in the Presidential primary because she is serving on the national Republican steering committee. Trump faced a crowded field in 2016 that included U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Rick Santorum, and Lindsey Graham, as well as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, former Ohio Governor John Kasich, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, businesswoman Carly Fiorina, former Virginia Gov. Mike Gilmore, former New York Gov. George Pataki, then Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, and Dr. Ben Carson. Trump won the 2016 Alabama Republican Primary despite the crowded field. Trump went on to win the Republican nomination and then beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the general election. Trump was unseated by former Vice President Joe Biden in 2020. Biden appears to be virtually unopposed at this point for the 2024 Democratic nomination for President. The 2024 Alabama Republican Primary is only 55 weeks away on March 5. DeSantis will speak to the Alabama Republican Party in Birmingham on March 9. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
7 things to watch in monthlong sprint to Iowa’s caucuses
The 2016 presidential election has defied all expectations so far. An enormous field of GOP candidates, still a dozen strong with a month to go before the leadoff Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1. The billionaire outsider who has tapped into the anger and fears of a nervous nation. A son and brother of presidents who is struggling to connect with voters despite his tremendous financial advantage. In less than a month, voters will begin having their say in what could turn out to be a bitter, monthslong fight for the Republican nomination. On the Democratic side, front-runner Hillary Clinton is banking on neatly locking up the nomination as her GOP rivals tear each other down. Some things to watch for in the four-week sprint to the Iowa caucuses: DONALD TRUMP’S CHECKBOOK To date, wealthy businessman Donald Trump has run a frugal campaign, skipping expensive television advertising as his Republican rivals and their affiliated super political action committees spend tens of millions of dollars on airtime. Trump has promised that that’s about to change, announcing plans last week to spend $2 million a week on the air in three early voting states. Will Trump follow through on that promise? Television ad prices are only increasing as the voting draws closer, and Trump has yet to reserve any airtime. TED CRUZ’S CLERGY Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is building a large organization of support in Iowa, amassing county leaders across the state and tapping a member of the clergy in each of the 99 counties. The son of a preacher, Cruz aims to take a well-worn path to victory in Iowa: Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2008 and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum in 2012 generated similar support among the state’s evangelical voters, and each won the caucuses. The question is whether that network of religious conservatives will coalesce behind Cruz this time or splinter. Cruz has made strides, picking up the endorsements of Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats and Focus on the Family founder James Dobson. ESTABLISHMENT CHOICES Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who entered the race in June as the front-runner, jokes that his father, former President George H.W. Bush, has taken to throwing shoes at his television set in response to Trump. But as the caucuses near, the laugh lines have given to persistent frustration among party elders and its professional class that Trump remains a viable candidate. Several have said an effort must be mounted to take down Trump, but a coordinated campaign of negative ads has so far failed to materialize. That’s because in part to concerns that it could backfire and further motivate Trump’s supporters, but also because several candidates vying to be the establishment choice are still in the race. Will there be an attempt to undermine Trump? Will Bush — or Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Ohio Gov. John Kasich or New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — emerge as the clear alternative to Trump before Trump or Cruz collects too many delegates to matter? DEPARTURE LOUNGE Two low-polling Republicans quit in December: South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and former New York Gov. George Pataki. While all the remaining candidates insist they’re not going anywhere, pressure could grow on other candidates to bow out and narrow the field. Among those feeling the heat: Santorum, who has failed to produce the kind of excitement that propelled him to that Iowa victory four years ago. If he and others at the bottom dropped out and endorsed the same candidate, it could give rise to the Trump alternative who some are desperately seeking. CLINTON’S TEST A third-place finish in 2008 in Iowa completely disrupted Clinton’s strategy to win the Democratic nomination, and she never could catch then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. This time, Clinton has poured significant resources and staff into the state. Polls show her with an edge over her chief rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent. If Clinton wins Iowa, a loss in New Hampshire to Sanders would be easier to contain. Back-to-back losses in Iowa and New Hampshire would generate fresh worries among Democrats about their front-runner. JANUARY SURPRISES The attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, shifted voters’ focus to national security issues. That was to the detriment of less-experienced and less-hawkish candidates, including retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson on the GOP side and Sanders. Another attack, especially on American soil, could further diminish candidates without experience in office or those uncomfortable with a campaign focus on foreign policy. FINAL DEBATES The Republicans have two more debates — Jan. 14 in South Carolina and Jan. 28 in Iowa — before the Feb. 1 caucuses. Democrats will debate Jan. 17, also in South Carolina. The GOP debates in 2015 broke viewership records, and the next two probably may provide make-or-break moments as undecided voters begin making up their minds. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Former New York Gov. George Pataki ends presidential bid
Former New York Gov. George Pataki said Tuesday that he’s ending his bid for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, with just over a month to go before the first nominating contests begin. Pataki made the announcement in an ad that aired on local NBC affiliates in New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina Tuesday night. “While tonight is the end of my journey for the White House as I suspend my campaign for president, I’m confident we can elect the right person, someone who will bring us together and who understands that politicians, including the president, must be the people’s servant and not their master,” said Pataki, 70. A centrist Republican who led New York through the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Pataki failed to gain traction in a crowded field of candidates during an election season that has so far favored outsiders like billionaire businessman Donald Trump. Bruce Breton, a local elected official and member of Pataki’s New Hampshire steering committee, said Pataki called him Tuesday afternoon to say he’d be exiting the race. Breton said Pataki’s campaign struggled to raise money and garner media attention. “He said he couldn’t get any traction. He worked hard, it’s just a different type of year,” Breton said. Ben Gamache, another member of Pataki’s New Hampshire steering committee, said he’d also spoken with Pataki earlier Tuesday. He said the former governor talked about the need to unify the party and the country. Pataki had hung his hopes on doing well in early-voting New Hampshire, but he has barely registered in state or national polls. He never made it onto a main GOP debate stage, where he would have had the chance to reach millions more viewers, and had trouble raising funds. Pataki appeared especially frustrated by Trump’s rise, and zeroed in on his rival during the undercard debate earlier this month, declaring the New York real estate mogul unfit to be president of the United States. “Donald Trump is the Know-Nothing candidate of the 21st century and cannot be our nominee,” Pataki said. Pataki told USA Today in November that he would drop out if another candidate who could unite the party emerged. “If someone emerged who I believe could unite the party and lead the country and win the election, then there’s no need to run,” he said. Breton said he’s already been contacted by a number of other GOP campaigns and received a personal phone call from Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who needs a strong finish in New Hampshire’s primary. For now, Breton isn’t ready to choose another candidate. “I’m very saddened by it,” he said of Pataki’s departure from the race. “He’s a great guy.” Rob Cole, the executive director of We the People, Not Washington, a super PAC backing Pataki’s bid, said in an email to supporters Tuesday evening that the group was “disheartened to see Governor Pataki drop out of the race” but “Not Giving Up.” “We believe Governor Pataki is the best candidate to be our next President, however we aren’t giving up the fight to elect a President who will fight for the values” the group stands for, Cole said, such as growing the economy and keeping the country safe. Pataki announced his candidacy with a video in May. “America has a big decision to make about who we’re going to be and what we’re going to stand for. The system is broken,” he said then. “The question is no longer about what our government should do, but what we should do about our government, about our divided union, about our uncertain future.” He ended the campaign on a hopeful note, declaring, “I know the best of America is still ahead of us.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Donald Trump says he saw people celebrating 9/11 in Jersey City
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says he saw people cheering the Sept. 11 attacks across the river in New Jersey — a claim officials strongly deny. Trump first told the story Saturday at a rally in Birmingham, Alabama, as he pressed the need for greater surveillance, including monitoring certain mosques, in the wake of the Paris attacks. “I watched when the World Trade Center came tumbling down. And I watched in Jersey City, New Jersey, where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down. Thousands of people were cheering,” Trump said Saturday at a rally in Birmingham, Alabama. Trump repeated the assertion Sunday in an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week,” as Stephanopoulos explained to Trump that police had refuted any such rumors at the time. “It did happen. I saw it,” said Trump. “It was on television. I saw it.” “There were people that were cheering on the other side of New Jersey, where you have large Arab populations. They were cheering as the World Trade Center came down,” he said. “I know it might be not politically correct for you to talk about it,” he added, “but there were people cheering as that building came down, as those buildings came down. And that tells you something.” A spokeswoman did not respond to a request for clarification Saturday about Trump’s comments. In a statement, Jersey City Mayor [Stephen] Fulop criticized Trump for his statements. “Trump is plain wrong, and he is shamefully politicizing an emotionally charged issue,” said Fulop. “No one in Jersey City cheered on September 11th. We were actually among the first to provide responders to help in lower Manhattan.” Footage of Muslims in Middle Eastern countries cheering news of the attacks were broadcast often on television, but there is no evidence in news archives of mass celebrations by Muslims in Jersey City, which sits right across the Hudson River from Lower Manhattan, with clear views of the World Trade Center site. While rumors have circulated on the internet for years that American Muslims celebrated the attacks in Paterson, New Jersey, police officials and religious leaders denied it at the time. “Trump needs to understand that Jersey City will not be part of his hate campaign,” said Fulop. “Clearly, Trump has memory issues or willfully distorts the truth, either of which should be concerning for the Republican Party.’” George Pataki, the governor of New York at the time of the attacks who is also running for the Republican presidential nomination, responded on Twitter. “Not sure what luxury spider-hole @realDonaldTrump was hiding in on Sept11 but I saw Americans come together that day @GStephanopoulos,” he wrote. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Unpopular GOP candidates mulling when to pack it in
For months, Republican presidential candidates with dwindling bank accounts and negligible support in polls have been finding reasons to stay in the 2016 race. Now, a few must weigh whether they can keep competing after being downgraded or excluded from Tuesday’s fourth GOP debate. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee have been bumped to the undercard debate because of low poll numbers, while South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and former New York Gov. George Pataki didn’t qualify for either event. Each of the candidates has so far vowed to stay in the race, keeping the Republican contest crowded with just under three months until the Iowa caucuses kick off the nominating process. Fifteen Republicans are still running for president, while three Democrats are vying for their party’s nomination. “I’ll go there, debate, and as soon as I leave the debate I’ll go to Iowa and get back to work,” Christie said Friday as he filed his paperwork to run in the New Hampshire primary. Struggling candidates can see multiple reasons to keep their White House hopes alive. It’s relatively inexpensive to campaign in Iowa and they can use television appearances as a way to get free publicity. Running for president can be a stepping stone to high-profile television jobs and other lucrative opportunities. And given that the field remains unsettled, there’s always the possibility that an unlikely candidate can make a late surge in one of the early voting states. Huckabee pulled off a surprise victory in the 2008 Iowa caucuses, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum did the same four years later, though neither ultimately secured his party’s nomination. “Candidates never really run out of reasons to run,” said Kevin Madden, a Republican strategist who advised 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney. “Many are staying in because the lesson learned from past campaigns is that it’s possible to go from 1 percent to winning the caucuses, or at least beat expectations.” Yet some Republicans are concerned, believing that one of the reasons the race remains unsettled is because there are still so many candidates. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker openly worried about that when he abruptly ended his campaign in late September amid a cash shortage. He encouraged other candidates to follow his lead “so voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who can offer a positive conservative alternative to the current front-runner.” The front-runner Walker was referring to was Donald Trump. The billionaire real estate mogul is still atop the GOP field, causing heartburn for establishment Republicans who fear he couldn’t win in the general election — or that his controversial statements on immigration and minorities could hurt the party even if he’s not the nominee. In his typical no-holds-barred style, Trump has been calling out rivals who are struggling and pointing them toward the exits. “There are too many people,” Trump said this week. “If a person has been campaigning for four or five months and they’re at zero or 1 or 2 percent, they should get out.” Other candidates have avoided assessing when their rivals should end their campaigns, a process that is often emotional and deeply personal. But for weeks, Jeb Bush supporters have said the crowded field is contributing to the former Florida governor’s struggle to gain traction. “For Jeb, the field’s got to get narrowed down a lot to shine,” said Philip Taub, a supporter from New Hampshire. Iowa State Rep. Ron Jorgenson said Bush is “suffering just from a lot of fragmentation with so many people in the race.” The New York Times, in a biting editorial, has called for Christie to end his campaign and refocus on his duties as governor. “You are accountable for what happens in New Jersey,” the paper wrote last week. And in Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal‘s pursuit of the presidency has led both Democrats and Republicans in the state to criticize him for being an absentee state executive. Jindal, whose term as governor ends in January, has spent most of the last several months campaigning across Iowa. “I think spending time here, working here is paying off,” the low-polling Jindal said. He is facing a major cash crunch, ending the last fundraising quarter with $261,000 on hand. But his financial disclosure forms show he’s finding ways to campaign cheaply, bunking at affordable hotel chains. Santorum, who is also low on cash, appears to be looking around for deals on online travel sites, with multiple payments to Expedia and Hotels.com. Of course, for most candidates, there eventually comes a time where a lack of money and lack of votes becomes too great to overcome. “They need to recognize that moment and make a move,” Madden said. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Chris Christie, Mike Huckabee relegated to undercard at next GOP debate
Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee have been relegated out of prime-time and onto the undercard at next week’s GOP presidential debate. And former New York Gov. George Pataki and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham won’t appear at all. That’s the decision announced Thursday night by Fox Business, which is hosting next Tuesday’s debates. Eight candidates will appear in the prime-time debate. That’s the fewest of the campaign to date. The selections were made by the financial news network based on national preference polls. Candidates had to average at least 2.5 percent or higher in the four most recent major polls conducted through Wednesday to be featured in the prime-time debate. The threshold for the undercard was 1 percent. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
New PPP national survey has Donald Trump up by 10 points
Donald Trump may or may not have already peaked in the Republican presidential contest, but no other candidate gets close to him in yet another national poll of GOP candidates released on Tuesday. The Public Policy Polling survey has Trump up with 27 percent support. Ben Carson is in second place with 17 percent, and Marco Rubio is next with 13 percent. These are all numbers that were roughly the same as when PPP conducted their last survey back in early September. Rounding out the field in fourth place is Jeb Bush with 10 percent, Ted Cruz is at 7 percent, Carly Fiorina is at 6 percent, and Mike Huckabee and John Kasich are each at 4 percent round out the list of candidates with with decent levels of support. Chris Christie, Rand Paul, and Rick Santorum are all at 2 percent, Lindsey Graham, Bobby Jindal, and George Pataki each get 1 percent, and in last place with less than 1 percent is Jim Gilmore. PPP says that Rubio “is really the only candidate who can claim any sort of momentum.” They say that because he’s gone from 5th place at 7 percent to 3rd place at 13 percent over the last five weeks. And he has a 57/24 favorability rating that puts him only behind Ben Carson when it comes to the most broadly liked of the Republican hopefuls. No one other than Rubio has seen more than a 2 point gain since our last poll. Florina’s six percent showing is down two points from a month ago, indicating that her No one’s really lost much ground in the last month either. The biggest decline anyone has seen in their support is 2 points- Trump, Fiorina, and Kasich have all seen that minor dip in the last month. Fiorina being at 6% after registering at 8% on our national poll in late August does suggest that whatever benefit she received from her strong debate performance last month may have already receded. Bush’s 10 percent showing is actually slightly up from a month ago and puts him in the top four, but he’s becoming more and more unpopular with Republican voters overall. Just 34 percent have a favorable opinion of him to 49% with a negative one. His struggles continue to be fueled by strong distrust from voters who identify themselves as ‘very conservative’- his favorability with them is 26/56 and only 2 percent support him for the nomination. Most interestingly, Republican primary voters are more liberal than all of the candidates when it comes to gun control and the economy. Eight-two percent of primary voters support background checks on all gun purchases, to only 13 percent opposed. Supporters of all 15 GOP hopefuls are in support of expanded background checks, including 82/18 support for them from Bush voters. There’s also 54 percent support among GOP voters for increasing the minimum wage to at least $10 an hour. Only 26 percent support keeping it where it is right now and 18 percent support eliminating the federal minimum wage altogether.
Key takeaways from the GOP’s second-stage White House debate
Before the first Republican debate of the 2016 campaign for president, there was the undercard: a match-up of seven GOP candidates who didn’t have the poll numbers to make the main event. It was a chance for the four current and former governors, a sitting senator from a crucial early-voting state, a former senator and the GOP’s only female White House candidate to try for the sort of hit-it-out-of-the-park performance that could vault them back into the top-tier of candidates. Here are five takeaways from Thursday’s pre-debate debate. ___ PLAYING NICE Instead of going after one another, the candidates in the pre-debate event focused on who wasn’t there: Donald Trump, Jeb Bush and, of course, Hillary Rodham Clinton. Trump, the billionaire real estate developer and former star of reality TV, took shots early from former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina. They both questioned his conservative credentials, pointing to his past support for universal health care and abortion rights. “He is the party’s frontrunner right now, and good for him,” Fiorina said, adding later: “Since he has changed his mind on amnesty, on health care and on abortion, I would just ask, what are the principles by which he will govern?” Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal went after Bush by name, rejecting the idea that — as the former Florida governor has suggested — Republicans need to be willing to lose in the primary to win the general election. “Let me translate that for you,” Jindal said. “That’s the establishment telling us to hide our conservative principles to get the left and the media to like us. That never works.” As for Clinton, the former secretary of state and Democratic frontrunner? Said South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham: “To the people who are dying for a better America, you better change course, and she doesn’t represent the change that we need.” ___ NO OOPS MOMENTS FOR PERRY Perry entered the forum with more to prove than anyone. He just missed making the main event, denying him the chance to show a primetime audience how far he has come since his disappointing 2012 campaign. That first run for the White House more or less ended for Perry when he couldn’t remember during a primary debate the name of the third federal agency he wanted to eliminate, saying only: “oops.” Perry got the first question on Thursday night and didn’t make any gaffes during the hour-long forum. He appeared confident and well-rehearsed, especially on the issue of immigration, and repeatedly talked about his record as governor of Texas — the nation’s biggest red state. “This is going to be a show-me, don’t-tell-me election,” Perry said, adding: “And I think that the record of the governor of the last 14 years of the 12th largest economy in the world is just the medicine America is looking for.” ___ FIORINA MAKES HER MARK Fiorina, the former chief at Hewlett-Packard, didn’t have the poll numbers to make the main event, but they could rise after her performance Thursday. Fiorina painted herself as an outsider prepared to take on the status quo and delivered some of the night’s most pointed barbs against Trump, Bush and Clinton. “Hillary Clinton lies about Benghazi. She lies about emails,” she declared in her closing statement, adding that, “We need a nominee who is going to throw every punch, not pull punches.” Along with potentially convincing a fair number of viewers that she’s the candidate to do it, she also won over one of her on-stage rivals. “I will tell you one thing,” Perry said of the recently concluded talks with Iran over the Islamic nation’s nuclear program, “I would a whole lot rather had Carly Fiorina over there doing our negotiation than John Kerry.” ___ GRAHAM: WHY SO SAD? Graham is known for his deep foreign policy knowledge, but also his biting sense of humor and happy-go-lucky approach to his work in the Senate and time on the campaign trail. That Graham was missing on Thursday. Instead, South Carolina’s senior senator was consistently low-key — lacking the energy of Perry’s performance and Fiorina’s commanding stage presence. In one particularly downbeat moment, he responded to a question about how he would inspire the nation with a story of family loss. “When I was 21, my mom died. When I was 22, my dad died. We owned a liquor store, restaurant, bar and we lived in the back,” Graham said. He added, “Today, I’m 60. I’m not married. I don’t have any kids.” It’s a story Graham tells often, usually with warmth that endears him to his audience. But without a large crowd at Quicken Loans Arena to play to, it didn’t have that kind of effect on this night. ___ REACHING FOR RELEVANCE For several of the contenders, who are barely registering in early national polls, the debate was a chance to stake a claim for relevance in the crowded GOP field. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who won the Iowa caucuses in 2012, tried to do it by calling for strict new limits on legal immigration. As part of his “pro-worker immigration plan,” he called for reducing the level of legal immigration by 25 percent, claiming that “almost all” the legal immigrants who have entered the country over the last 20 years “are unskilled workers, flattening wages, creating horrible lack of opportunities for unskilled workers.” None of the others on stage, including New York Gov. George Pataki and former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore, had the sort of stand-out moment viewers — and voters — are likely to remember. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
GOP debate lineup: Trump and Bush in, Fiorina and Perry out
Ten candidates have made the cut for the first Republican presidential debate Thursday, with polling front-runner Donald Trump hoping for a civil evening but ready to pounce if attacked. The seven others lagging in the polls and relegated to an afternoon forum? Call them the not-ready-for-prime-time players, at least in the eyes of debate organizers. Sharing the Cleveland stage with the billionaire businessman will be former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Candidates with time to watch that debate are former tech executive Carly Fiorina, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, former New York Gov. George Pataki and former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore. The largest field of contenders in modern memory challenged debate organizers. Fox News relied on an average of five national polls to decide the lineups for the prime-time debate and the forum four hours earlier. “We never ever envisioned we’d have 17 major candidates,” said Steve Duprey, New Hampshire’s representative to the Republican National Committee who helped craft the debate plan. “There’s no perfect solution.” Republican officials were particularly concerned about Fiorina’s status, hoping she would help balance Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton‘s push to rally women. Trump’s recent surge in the polls, a surprise to many Republican officials, damaged Fiorina’s chances. Some Republicans fear that Trump’s rhetoric on immigration and other issues could hurt the party. “I probably am the target,” he said Wednesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” He said he did not want to attack any of his rivals and preferred to “just discuss the issues” in the course of a “very civil” debate. Still, he made clear that if attacked, he would have “to do something back.” Trump was far and away the front-runner in the five most recent national polls that determined the debate lineup. Several candidates were grouped together in the single digits, most separated by a number smaller than the margin of error. For example, in a Monmouth University survey released Monday, Kasich was the 10th candidate with the support of 3.2 percent of voters. But after taking the margin of error into account, Monmouth noted that Kasich’s support could be as low as 1.5 percent, while almost any of the candidates who polled lower could be that high or higher. Five more party-sanctioned debates are scheduled before primary voting begins in February. “This first debate is just one opportunity of many,” Amy Frederick, an aide to Fiorina, wrote supporters. “With many more debates to come, we fully expect that Carly will soon stand on the stage and show America what real leadership looks like.” Jindal spokeswoman Shannon Dirmann issued a challenge of sorts: “The governor will debate anyone anywhere at any time.” Candidates already began to turn their attention toward Trump. Asked about Trump while courting religious conservatives on Tuesday, Bush said the businessman’s rhetoric on immigrants is “wrong.” `’We have a different tone and a different view,” he said. “I respect the fact that he’s the front-runner for the Republican nomination,” Bush continued. “This is a serious thing. But I think to win and govern the right way – we have to unite rather than divide.” Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Debate stage drama: GOP awaits top 10 announcement
They crowded the stage in New Hampshire for a debate-style faceoff. But the jam-packed Republican field will be narrowed considerably for the first formal debate of the 2016 primary season later in the week. On Tuesday, Fox News announces which 10 presidential hopefuls can participate and the exclusive club will feature notable omissions. All but three of the 17 major Republican candidates for president participated in a New Hampshire forum Monday night that was essentially a “debate lite.” Unlike Thursday’s nationally televised debate in Cleveland, the gathering didn’t have a cut-off for participation. In their upcoming Ohio meeting, only the GOP’s top 10 candidates in national polling will be allowed on stage. “We never ever envisioned we’d have 17 major candidates,” said Steve Duprey, New Hampshire’s representative to the Republican National Committee, who helped create the GOP’s 2016 debate plan. “There’s no perfect solution.” Without exception, the candidates on Monday aimed their criticism at Democrats instead of each other in a two-hour face-off where Republicans had more in common than not. Not mentioned was the one candidate making the most news headed into Thursday’s meeting: Donald Trump. The billionaire businessman who declined to participate in Monday’s gathering is poised to take center stage later in the next meeting. Trump’s place is assured, having surged into the lead in most recent polls, yet several high-profile Republicans are on the bubble. They include the party’s only female presidential candidate, Carly Fiorina, a former technology executive whose brief surge earlier in the summer has been wiped out by Trump’s rise. And with Republican primary voting set to begin in six months, those who don’t qualify for Thursday’s nationally televised debate may struggle to stand out in the extraordinarily packed GOP contest. “Thursday’s debate will be the first debate, not the last debate,” said Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who all but conceded he wouldn’t qualify for Thursday’s affair. “We’re getting larger and large crowds, we’re moving up in the polls,” he told reporters after the New Hampshire forum. “We’re building a movement, our strategy is working — talking directly to voters.” Jindal’s fate, like that of several Republican rivals, will rest in which polls Fox uses to determine the top 10 candidates. Several surveys have been released in recent days, with more expected Tuesday, whose margins could make a difference for candidates separated by 1 or 2 points. For example, in Monmouth University’s survey released Monday, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, at 3.2 percent, was the 10th candidate, just above the cutoff. After taking the margin of error into account, Monmouth noted that Kasich’s support could be as low as 1.5 percent, while almost any of the candidates who polled lower than him could be that high or higher. Monmouth found that only five candidates — Trump, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee — are definitely in the top tier of candidates, while just two — former New York Gov. George Pataki and former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore — would not make it into the top 10 even when margin of error is taken into account. Meanwhile, Monday’s meeting offered a prime-time practice round for most of the would-be debaters, who addressed several contentious issues, immigration topping a list that also included abortion and climate change. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, another who may not qualify for the upcoming debate, called the flow of immigrants crossing the border illegally “a serious wound.” “You want to stanch the flow,” he said as his Republican rivals watched from the front row of the crowded St. Anselm College auditorium. On those immigrants who have overstayed visas, Perry charged, “You go find ’em, you pick ’em up and you send ’em back where they’re from.” Monday’s participants included seven current or former governors, four senators, a businesswoman, a retired neurosurgeon and one former senator. While Thursday’s debate will be broadcast on Fox News, Monday’s event was aired on C-SPAN and local television stations in Iowa and South Carolina — states that, along with New Hampshire, will host the first contests in the presidential primary calendar next February. After the forum, Kasich was asked about Trump’s absence. “I never thought about him,” the Ohio governor said. “It’d have been great if he’d have been here.” Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
2016 Republicans use Donald Trump, TV to make debate cut
Rick Perry is attacking Donald Trump‘s credibility and branding the billionaire businessman “a cancer on conservatism.” Rick Santorum, a conservative stalwart, popped up on a TV program popular with liberals. Lindsey Graham set his cellphone on fire. With the first debate of the Republican presidential campaign approaching, the White House hopefuls are trying everything they can to improve their polling position. A candidate needs to place in the top 10 in an average of national polls to meet the criteria Fox News Channel has set to take the stage Aug. 6 in Cleveland. Those kept out risk being overlooked by voters and financial backers heading into the critical fall stretch before the nominating contests start early in 2016. “If you’re not on the stage you’re irrelevant, you don’t matter,” said Republican pollster Frank Luntz. “Unless you have some serious ad dollars, it’s not a glass ceiling. It’s a concrete ceiling.” At of this past week, former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former New York Gov. George Pataki, ex-Pennsylvania Sen. Santorum and South Carolina Sen. Graham were outside the top 10. Others close to the edge including Ohio Gov. John Kasich, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and ex-Texas Gov. Perry. That would relegate them to a second-tier debate, only an hourlong airing before the prime-time event. “In your heart of hearts, you want to see me debate Hillary Clinton,” Fiorina, the only woman in the Republican contest, said with a grin, drawing applause from more than 100 people at an Ames country club Thursday. “I would of course love to be on the debate stage, but we’re going to keep going with or without it,” she told reporters afterward. “The boys are going to fight, and I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing.” One guaranteed participant is Trump, despite incendiary comments about Mexican immigrants and Arizona Sen. John McCain‘s war record. Trump’s remarks have drawn a backlash in a party trying to expand its Latino voting bloc and where national security is an influential constituency. Boring in on Trump is one approach some rivals hope will help them to break through as the debate nears. Perry unloaded on Wednesday when he called Trump’s campaign a “barking carnival act” and “toxic mix of demagoguery, mean-spiritedness and nonsense.” Perry pollster Greg Strimple said the goal of the speech was part of a long-standing effort to raise his profile, not to get him in the debate. “We had long-planned a speech defending conservatism,” Strimple said. “When Donald Trump made his negative comments, it provided us the perfect comparison.” Perry’s supporters are buying national cable ads that could boost his numbers ahead of the debate. On Friday, backers of Christie announced a new ad to air on Fox News. Graham, even further behind in polling, called Trump a “jackass” after the real estate executive said McCain was “not a war hero.” McCain served as a Navy pilot during the Vietnam War, who was captured after his plane was shot down and held for more than five years as a prisoner of war. Graham then starred in a video produced by a conservative website demonstrating how to destroy a cellphone after Trump publicly disclosed Graham’s number during a campaign appearance in South Carolina. Curt Anderson, a strategist advising Jindal’s campaign, wrote in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal that the Republican Party was sabotaging itself by controlling the debates too much, after concluding that marginal candidates dragged 2012 nominee Mitt Romney too far to the right. “They have come out to limit the number of debates we can have, they dictated who can have it, where you have it and who will moderate it,” Anderson said in an interview, adding that his complaints were unconnected to Jindal’s campaign. “The only thing left is to dictate what can be said in it.” As with Perry, an outside group supporting the Louisiana governor is buying ads on national cable just in time for the debate. Santorum spokesman Matt Benyon said Santorum’s TV appearances, including on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show,” were timed to take advantage of the candidate’s time in New York this past week, not to boost his poll numbers. “Would it be great to be in the debate? Absolutely,” Benyon said. “But to change your campaign strategy to focus on one date in August is a pretty shortsighted idea.” Republican consultant Reed Galen said candidates may have a better chance to introduce themselves to voters in the less-crowded second-tier debate than competing with Trump and the other contenders in the main debate. Still, he understood the drive for prime time. “You get more licks in AAA-ball,” Galen said. “But the majors are the big show.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Who is in, and about to get in, the GOP race for President
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham is the ninth major Republican to enter the party’s 2016 presidential primary contest. Another half dozen or so are likely to get into the race later this summer, including former Texas Gov. Rick Perry later this week. Here’s a look at the GOP field: Who’s in, who’s almost in, and who’s still waiting for the right moment. IN THE RACE: Ted Cruz The first major Republican to get into the race, the Texas senator began his campaign March 23 at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. “I believe in you. I believe in the power of millions of courageous conservatives rising up to re-ignite the promise of America,” he said. Rand Paul The Kentucky senator launched his campaign April 7 in Louisville, where he told a hotel ballroom full of supporters, “I have a message, a message that is loud and clear and does not mince words: We have come to take our country back.” Marco Rubio In a speech April 13 in Miami, the senator from Florida called his candidacy for president a way for the country to break free of ideas “stuck in the 20th century.” He said, “This election is not just about what laws we are going to pass. It is a generational choice about what kind of country we will be.” Carly Fiorina The former tech executive chose social media and a nationally broadcast morning TV network show to launch her campaign on May 4, and she quickly went after Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton. “I have a lot of admiration for Hillary Clinton, but she clearly is not trustworthy,” she said. Ben Carson The retired pediatric neurosurgeon got into the race the same day as Fiorina with an announcement speech in his native Detroit. “It’s time for people to rise up and take the government back. The political class won’t like me saying things like that. The political class comes from both parties.” Mike Huckabee The former Arkansas governor and runner-up in the 2008 GOP presidential primaries kicked off his second White House campaign May 5 in the hometown he shares with former President Bill Clinton — Hope, Ark. “Power, money and political influence have left a lot of Americans behind,” he said. Rick Santorum The runner-up to Mitt Romney in 2012, Santorum began his return engagement to presidential politics May 27 in his western Pennsylvania hometown of Cabot. “The last race, we changed the debate. This race, with your help and God’s grace, we can change this nation,” he said. George Pataki A former three-term governor of New York, who previously considered presidential campaigns in 2008 and 2012, Pataki got his campaign started on May 28 in Exeter, N.H. “While I saw the horrors of Sept. 11 first hand, in the days, weeks and months that followed, I also saw the strength of America on display. … I completely reject the idea that we can only come together in adversity.” Lindsay Graham After all but confirming the week before that he was in, the senior senator from South Carolina made it official Monday with a speech in his hometown of Central, S.C., that cast the foreign threats to America in dark terms. “Simply put, radical Islam is running wild. They have more safe havens, more money, more weapons and more capability to strike our homeland than any time since 9/11. They are large, they are rich, and they’re entrenched.” ALMOST THERE: Bobby Jindal The governor of Louisiana took his latest step toward running for president on May 18, announcing a campaign exploratory committee. “Economic collapse is much closer to the door than people realize, our culture is decaying at a rapid rate and our standing in a dangerous world is at an all-time low.” Rick Perry The former Texas governor is expected to announce his 2016 presidential bid on Thursday at an airfield outside Dallas, surrounded by prominent veterans — including the widow of Chris Kyle of “American Sniper” fame. WAITING FOR THEIR MOMENT: Jeb Bush The former Florida governor created a political action committee and super PAC in December and has been raising many millions for the groups expected to support his likely candidacy. Bush has begun visiting early-voting states, has a foreign policy trip to Europe planned for June and is expected to announce his plans shortly after returning. Chris Christie He says he hasn’t decided whether he’s running yet, but the New Jersey governor looks an awful lot like a candidate, making frequent trips to early-voting states, delivering a series of policy speeches and raising money for a political action committee and super PAC created by his backers. John Kasich The former congressman and current Ohio governor is hinting to donors and voters he’s likely to get into the race. His political organization, New Day for America, announced Monday his plans to travel to Iowa later this month. Donald Trump The real estate mogul and reality television star has launched a presidential exploratory committee and is still debating on whether to get into the race. Never short of self-confidence, he said last month he’d be a force to reckon with in the GOP debates. “Selfishly, the networks would put me on because I get great ratings,” Trump said. Scott Walker The Wisconsin governor says he will announce his decision after signing the state budget, which is expected to pass the Republican-controlled state Legislature in late June. Walker has already created a nonprofit group, Our American Revival, to help promote his expected candidacy, and a super PAC led by his close advisers is also up and running. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
