Former Rep. Bob Barr, who gained fame from the 1998 impeachment of President Clinton, warned Republicans Monday that Hillary Clinton will be a “dangerous” 2016 candidate they should be scared of. “The Democratic nomination is hers for the asking.  Whether its sort of the novelty of electing a woman as president or simply all of […]

A single line deep in an Associated Press story about Mitt Romney’s donors is causing a ripple through Wisconsin today. The piece outlines the Romney’s vast fundraising network and speculates on where the 2012 presidential nominee’s money people will land come 2016. It isn’t surprising that Romney’s contributors wouldn’t naturally gravitate towards anti-establishment contenders like Sens. Rand […]

George Will’s punchiest two lines on 2016 contenders Hillary Clinton and Chris Christie this weekend: On Hillary: “The disproportion between the thinness of her record and the ardor of her advocates suggests that her gender is much of her significance.” On Christie: “Who wants to call the person “Mr. President” who calls a sportswriter an “idiot”? . […]

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has flirted with the prospect of a presidential bid before, but appears resigned to the conclusion he’ll never run . . . because he can’t win. The exchange from the much-buzzed about New York Magazine piece this weekend: If you’re an executive, can you really rule out running for president in […]

Most potential 2016 candidates have spent the year waving aside their undeniable interest in the presidency. On Saturday, New York Rep. Peter King did the exact opposite. “Right now I’m running for president,” he told a New Hampshire radio station during a visit to Wolfeboro, N.H. It’s the most direct statement any 2016er has made yet — […]

It’s feasible the next Democratic nominee for president could win the White House by accruing just 37 percent of the white vote. That’s one of several staggering statistics that jumps out in Ron Brownstein’s fresh examination of Republicans reliance on the white voter for National Journal. Here’s the key graph that encapsulates the daunting math the […]

Jon Huntsman, the former GOP presidential candidate deemed too squishy by some in his own party, has come out in support of a limited missile strike on Syria. “A threshold has been crossed and there has to be some response to that,” the former Utah governor told Voice of America. Additionally, Huntsman doesn’t even think President […]

One belief that usually unites governors of both parties is that they are doing the substantive, grown-up work that those in Congress are seemingly incapable of handling. Yet when it comes to striking Syria militarily, leading governors appear fine with leaving it to the opinion of Congress. The usually cocksure New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie […]

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. — South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham predicted Wednesday that Hillary Clinton will be hitched to President Obama’s flailing agenda if she runs for president, but also raised the stakes for his own party in 2016. Speaking at a breakfast of Republican women on the deck of a creek side bar and grill, […]

Governors usually get a pass on having to weigh in on developing foreign policy events — “I’ll leave that for Congress to decide” or “I don’t have all the intelligence” are common refrains. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal didn’t exactly wave the Syria question off Tuesday, but he stopped short of delivering an answer that would put him […]

It can be argued that it would be undiplomatic and even un-Clintonian for Hillary Clinton to weigh in on military action in Syria just as the Obama administration makes its best case for a strike to skeptical lawmakers on Capitol Hill. But just like everything else the former Secretary of State does, the timing of a […]

As is customary, there’s much less movement on the Democratic CHASE — rolling monthly rankings of the most likely 2016 nominee of each party. The one switch for September: The addition of New Jersey Senate candidate Cory Booker to the list. Young, media friendly, provocative, Twitter-obsessed, Booker’s name is beginning to pop up more frequently in stories that […]

Rand Paul remains at the top of The CHASE, but there’s a new number two heading into the fall. His strong performance in the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire combined with robust national polling elevates New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to #2 on The CHASE — Yellowhammer’s rolling monthly rankings of the most likely 2016 presidential nominee […]

It would be hasty to presume that the pending congressional vote on military action in Syria will be a pivotal issue in the Republican presidential primary two years from now. But the philosophical argument that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul engaged in this summer has now presented itself in a real world […]

The chairman of the Iowa Republican Party has sent an extraordinary letter to President Obama, outlining his firm opposition to a U.S. bombing strike on Syria. The letter, written by chairman A.J. Spiker, encapsulates how far the GOP’s foreign policy view has shifted since it last held the White House. Spiker by no means represents […]

The heckling of Marco Rubio over immigration was expected. More surprising was his critique of an education policy backed by his mentor and potential 2016 rival, Jeb Bush. Rubio’s remarks came during his address to the Americans For Prosperity conference in Orlando: Rubio also got loud applause when he criticized the Common Core education standards, which have […]

Anti-tax leader Grover Norquist is signaling he’d rather see Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan remain in the House than attempt a run for president in 2016, according to The Hill. “My argument against Paul Ryan as a candidate is wholly based on the fact that we need him exactly where he is, holding the House of Representatives […]

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who in April called for the ouster of Syria’s leader, has now stopped short of calling for military action, instead choosing to blame President Obama for creating “no good options.” The key graph from Rubio’s statement: “Because the President failed to act in the right way at the right time, we are […]

The foreign policy fissure in the Republican Party is being hoisted back into the spotlight as the United States lays the groundwork for military strikes in Syria. The two Republican 2016ers who have issued the strongest statements against military action thus far are Sen. Ted Cruz and Rick Santorum. “The United States Armed Forces don’t […]

I was in Greenville, S.C. yesterday for a Daily Beast piece on the state of play of Gov. Nikki Haley’s reelection prospects.  The draw, of course, were the three governors with designs on the White House in 2016: Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal and Scott Walker. Standing on a stage before a giant American flag, each pepped up […]

Iowa Rep. Steve King — one of the most polarizing conservative voices in Congress — is seeking to influence the 2016 GOP presidential primary contest not as a candidate, but by playing the role of gatekeeper. King, who appeared at a meeting of conservative activists in Charleston Monday, is also planning tours of New Hampshire […]

Despite polls showing him sliding behind in the Virginia governor’s race, it appears the 2016 GOP cavalry is coming to the aid of Ken Cuccinelli. At least three prospective Republican candidates for president are expected to campaign for the attorney general this fall, The RUN has learned, continuing the tradition of pols with higher ambitions […]

Ted Cruz acknowledged to an audience in New Hampshire Friday the plan to defund Obamacare has been dubbed “deceptive, deceitful, nuts, crazy, stupid and wacko.” And that’s just what his Republican colleagues think, he half-joked. Standing before a breathtaking bucolic backdrop of a Dublin forest, the ambitious, steely freshman senator from Texas asked the attendees […]

Colorado — the second-tier battleground state that has sided with the White House victor in the last four presidential elections — looks antsy once again. Ten months after reelecting President Obama, Colorado voters seem ornery and itching for a change, issuing its incumbent Democratic governor harsh marks and providing gleams of hope for the GOP’s […]