If Rick Perry is to resurrect his longshot presidential hopes in 2016, Iowa will be an essential part of the playbook. And he’s not exactly being shy about the Hawkeye State’s importance to him. The Texas governor returned to the state Thursday, where over the span of two days, he’ll gab with local reporters, conduct […]

The battle lines are beginning to harden in the maturing GOP presidential field now that Chris Christie is basking in his moment of supreme electability. Rand Paul has been the most overtly confrontational, openly calling him a moderate. Marco Rubio offered his congratulations but cautioned that the 2013 races shouldn’t be overanalyzed for lessons in future races.  ”Every […]

How’s this for a congratulations? The day after Gov. Chris Christie routed his Democratic opponent for a second term, Sen. Rand Paul rapped him for appearing in television ads funded by federal dollars allocated for Hurricane Sandy recovery. New Jersey’s Record reports: At a Senate hearing on the status of Sandy recovery, Paul never mentioned Christie […]

Chris Christie’s victory rally in Asbury Park, New Jersey Tuesday night had the look, feel and size of a presidential celebration. The speech he delivered matched the grandiosity of the stage he stood on. Following his seismic 22-point victory over Democrat Barbara Buono, it’s obvious now that Christie sought to use the address to trumpet […]

Mitt Romney was never a natural fit for Iowa. But as the Republican Party wrestles with how to alter its nominating system in order to produce a less battered nominee in 2016, the former Massachusetts governor offers some advice in an interview with the Boston Globe: Move away from the complicated caucus. Romney, who was pilloried during […]

The final national figure to campaign for Chris Christie’s re-election in New Jersey will be New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez. Martinez is not only her state’s first female governor, but also the first Hispanic female governor in the entire country. The Star-Ledger notes that Martinez represents Christie’s concerted effort to reach out to Hispanics.  Campaign spokesman […]

Just days away from an expected smashing re-election victory in New Jersey, a new book portrays Gov. Chris Christie as an opposition researcher’s dream. In “Double Down: Game Change 2012″, Mitt Romney’s vice presidential vetting team is portrayed as hostile to Christie due to a litany of troubling issues in his past that haven’t previously […]

Sen. Ted Cruz privately told a group of donors in New York this past summer that Sen. Rand Paul can’t be elected president. That’s the lead nugget in a New York Times piece examining the relationship of the two tea party stars.  It’ also the first published piece of evidence showing a breach between the two colleagues […]

Here’s a surprise:  A Jersey Yankee leads the early Republican presidential field in South Carolina. Chris Christie comes out on top in a new Harper Polling survey of the Palmetto State, capturing 19 percent. Still more — 22 percent — are undecided, but Christie’s number in a southern and traditionally conservative state underlines his outsized national presence. […]

Gov. Chris Christie is already billing his probable victory in New Jersey next Tuesday as “a historic election in the history of our state” that will attract the eyes of the nation. In a conference call with hundreds of supporters, volunteers and legislative candidates Monday evening, Christie elevated the impact of his re-election bid, billing […]

The Washington Post proposed Monday that one of the central questions surrounding a potential Ted Cruz presidential candidacy is whether the Texan’s bid would be more like Michele Bachmann’s or Mike Huckabee’s. Bachmann was Cruz before Cruz — the tea party-backed outsider who fought the fights more “pragmatic” politicians in Washington, D.C., weren’t willing to take on. […]

Predictably, Gov. Chris Christie’s decision to withdraw the appeal of a New Jersey court order to allow gay marriage has left conservatives dismayed. The Family Research Council issued a statement of “disappointment,” implying that Christie lacked the backbone to pursue the legal fight to defend traditional marriage. “We are glad that Gov. Christie vetoed the […]

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has hired a former Mitt Romney staffer with experience in Iowa and New Hampshire to lead a new group designed to drive proactive policy solutions for the Republican Party. Via Politico: His first hire, executive director Jill Neunaber, has experience in the early states. She managed Romney’s Iowa campaign last fall […]

Gov. Chris Christie had another crisp, forceful debate Tuesday night toward his effort to secure a second term in New Jersey. But there was one line he delivered that could come back to haunt him in 2016. It was the governor’s response to whether he believes climate change had anything to do with the force […]

Marco Rubio’s had a rough six months. He’s been whipsawed by the right for his efforts on immigration reform.  His standing in the race for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination has dwindled to single digits in a swath of polling.  Most distressing, I’m sure, is that he’s even been dethroned as leader of The RUN’s CHASE rankings (!). […]

Hillary Clinton repeatedly mentioned Vice President Joe Biden’s opposition to the raid that killed Osama bin Laden during a speech in Atlanta, marking the first time she’s directly engaged her potential Democratic rival in a public setting since leaving the State Department, according to an account in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  Her remarks at the National Association […]

New York Rep. Pete King, the newest addition to The CHASE, suggests to Bloomberg Television that the impetus behind his possible 2016 presidential run is to blunt Ted Cruz. He also makes clear that when he says no other Republican in the country would take on Cruz, he’s not targeting border state Gov. Chris Christie. Here’s the […]

Former President Jimmy Carter heaped effusive praise on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie over the weekend, dubbing him “very effective” and noting that he’s been complimentary of Democrats. “I was filled with admiration for what [Christie] did, not only helping within New Jersey but also his influence in making sure that the Congress didn’t continue […]

Ted Cruz’s ObamaCare antics may have earned the ire of establishment Republicans, but his steely, if not truculent obstinance has simultaneously propelled him to near-messianic status among the base of his party. That’s why the Texan senator has ascended to the #3 position on The CHASE — our rolling monthly rankings of the most likely 2016 presidential […]

Grover Norquist, speaking in Urbandale, Iowa Wednesday, leaves Marco Rubio off his list of 2016 contenders. And perhaps even worse in Norquist’s eyes, he tosses him in the same basket as Ted Cruz. In 2016, he said, there could be six or seven candidates – nearly all governors – who could fund the campaign from start […]

The Democratic National Committee is now venturing into early presidential primary states to tar potential GOP White House hopefuls with blame for the ongoing government shutdown. On the heels of its campaign targeting a slew of top Republican officials in their home states, the DNC began a new effort Wednesday zoning in on the first […]

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie squared off with Democrat Barbara Buono in the first of two debates Tuesday night before his likely re-election next month. Here are 3 takeaways from the governor’s performance that should be remembered as he positions himself for a White House campaign. 1. He’s not as moderate on some issues as […]

Another state party has formally moved to thank Sen. Ted Cruz. And this one is from Sen. Marco Rubio’s home state: The state party’s caucus of state committeemen and committeewomen, who make up the governing executive committee of the party, voted by acclamation this afternoon during a meeting in Orlando to express their support for Cruz. […]

A red flag for Gov. Chris Christie is tucked into that new national 2016 Quinnipiac University survey this week. Credit must go to an unnamed unaligned strategist, who writes Yellowhammer that Christie’s favorability rating among Republicans is downright alarming. It’s 43 percent — just three points better than his 40 percent rating with Democrats and a point […]