Donald Trump is once again alone at the top of the Republican field, according to the latest CNN/ORC Poll, with 36% of registered Republicans and Republican-leaning independents behind him, while his nearest competitor trails by 20 points. CONT. Jennifer Agiesta, CNN Read more »
Ben Carson’s Support Sinks as Terror Reshapes Race
Ben Carson was riding high in the race for the Republican presidential nomination a month ago, a soft-spoken candidate with an uplifting biography and the outsider credibility that is in fashion this year. His calm demeanor seemed to be a soothing alternative for conservative voters who were not enamored with […] Read more »
Fear, faith and the rise of Ben Carson
… The rise of Carson toward the top of the polls in the Republican presidential primary race has baffled many political pundits, liberals and some within the GOP establishment, who find his positions short on details, and certain assertions — that the biblical figure Joseph built the Egyptian pyramids to […] Read more »
Republicans May Face Three-Way Fight for Nomination
In a measure of the crosswinds buffeting the party, more Republican leaders are bracing for a uniquely fragmented nominating contest that divides the GOP among three viable candidates well into 2016. CONT. Ronald Brownstein, National Journal Read more »
The GOP’s identity-politics crisis: Holding race-card aces but loath to play them
… After years of deriding Democrats for dividing Americans into hyphenated subgroups, Republicans face a tantalizing and vexing prospect this year. With two sons of Cuban immigrants, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, joining a famed African American surgeon, Ben Carson, near the top of the polls, they have a unique […] Read more »
Fractured Establishment Looks to Challenge Donald Trump
At about this time four years ago, Republican voters began to set aside their interest in nontraditional candidates for president and consolidate behind Mitt Romney, the choice of the GOP establishment. Tentative signs suggest that the same thing could be happening this year. CONT. Dante Chinni, Wall Street Journal Read more »