Hope this helped make a potentially complicated process a little bit easier. Happy voting!
By: Stephen C. As you might have figured out, I've been pretty interested in this Presidential election. Next Tuesday, April 26, my home state of Pennsylvania will go to the polls and vote for, among other things, who we want to represent our respective parties in November as the Presidential nominee. Since the Pennsylvania primary has some confusing rules, specifically on the Republican side, I'll explain what you can expect when you go to the polls on Tuesday. Democrats I'll start on the Democratic side because that's WAY more straight forward. As a Democrat, when you receive your ballot, for President, you will simply select either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders. There are 210 delegates, which are awarded in a mostly proportional way. Of the 210 total delegates, 127 delegates are awarded proportionally based on voting at a congressional district level. In addition, there are 62 delegates that are selected by party leadership who will also be proportionally allocated based on the statewide vote, provided that candidate hits the 15% trigger (which only Senator Sanders and Secretary Clinton should). The remaining 21 delegates are "superdelegates" and can support whichever candidate they want at the convention, regardless of the statewide vote. So basically, 189 delegates are awarded proportionally based on the state-wide vote, while 21 "superdelegates" can support whoever they want. Simple enough, right? Republicans As a Republican, you will be first be asked to choose between Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, and Jeb Bush (although the latter three have all suspended their campaigns, they will still appear on the ballot). Whoever wins the statewide vote between those six candidates will automatically receive 17 of the 71 delegates. Here's where things can get complicated. The remaining 54 delegates are completely unbound at the convention and will be selected directly by the voters, three per congressional district (this is referred to as a "loophole primary"). There will also be no guidance provided on the ballot for who these potential delegates will be supporting at the convention. Many of those running have said they will support whoever wins the state-wide vote, or whoever wins their congressional district, but the unbound nature of their election makes them complete wild cards. Also, since the ballot will provide no help as to which delegate is supporting which candidate, the voter needs to do their own research. The best resource I found was this Google doc spreadsheet, created by Phil Kerpen, who is the President of American Commitment, a conservative public-policy organization. In the spreadsheet, Kerpen has compiled the information of each potential delegate with who they would be supporting and why, organized by congressional district. All you need to do is find your congressional district, read through the delegate candidates, and select the ones that match up with your Presidential preference pick. Keep in mind that there may not be delegates in your congressional district who are planning on supporting your pick for President. Both Democrats and Republicans Pennsylvania Republicans will be asked to vote in the United States Senator primary (although incumbent Senator Pat Toomey is running unopposed, he still officially needs to win the nomination), while Pennsylvania Democrats will need to vote in the primary for United States Senator between John Fetterman, Katie McGinty, Joe Sestak, and Joseph John Vodvarka. Each party will also need to nominate their congressional district's Congressman/woman. There are also primaries being held for the nomination for Attorney General, Auditor General, State Treasurer, State Senator, and State Representative in each party. Attorney General, Auditor General, and State Treasurer will be the same throughout the state (by party), while both State Senator and State Representative are on a local level.
Hope this helped make a potentially complicated process a little bit easier. Happy voting!
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By: Stephen C. Well, America, we've arrived again to the time that occurs every four years. That time when who's running for President of the United States dominates the news and dinner conversations (well, at least my house's dinner conversations). It's been an incredibly interesting election cycle thus far, and that's putting it lightly. Let's recap where we are, starting with the Democrats, since that's way more straightforward. On the Democratic side of things, the presumed nomination of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is not nearly as presumed due to the strong showing by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Consider me one of the many who severely underestimated Senator Sanders' chances. He still faces a large uphill battle (Mrs. Clinton has virtually the full support of the Democratic party elites), but Senator Sanders' performances in the first two states, including a razor thin loss in Iowa and a landslide victory in New Hampshire, have proven he's more than capable of pushing Mrs. Clinton to the limit. As I said, Mrs. Clinton is still the overwhelming favorite (although Senator Sanders did perform well in the first two states, those states are also considered to be more aligned to the demographics that Senator Sanders appeals well to. In the more diverse states, we'll see just how real this surge from Senator Sanders is. If he can continue to do well, we may just have a dogfight on our hands with the Democrats), but her coronation is not nearly as set in stone as it once was. The Republican side of the race is much more muddled. A field that was originally as many as 17 has been cut down to just seven, although only five of those seven seem to have any hopes of obtaining the nomination. Former pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson saw his numbers skyrocket, only to come plummeting down almost as quickly. He's expected to drop out of the running relatively soon. Former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore is technically still running, but his campaign as barely gotten off the ground at all. That leaves five others still in the running: Businessman Donald Trump, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Ohio Governor John Kasich, and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Mr. Trump is considered the favorite as of now, after a second place finish in Iowa and a resounding victory in New Hampshire, although this is the part of the post where I'm obligated to mention that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats have nominated a candidate that hasn't been an incumbent President, a Vice President, a Governor, or a Senator since the parties began nominating candidates using the current primary / caucus system in 1976. Senator Cruz is also one of the front-runners, after a victory in Iowa and a relatively strong third place finish in New Hampshire. Especially as the Republicans head to the South (including a March 1 Texas primary where Senator Cruz will look to pick up most of the delegates from his home state), Senator Cruz has a chance to pick up quite a few delegates (the early states seem to be much friendlier to Mr. Trump and Senator Cruz). That leaves the three "establishment" candidates: Senator Rubio, Governor Kasich, and Governor Bush. As FiveThirtyEight pointed out, if the Republicans had a single candidate that combined the appeal of Senator Rubio, the post-New Hampshire momentum of Governor Kasich, and the warchest of Governor Bush, they'd have a pretty solid candidate. As it stands, the GOP establishment looks lost. Senator Rubio is still believed to be the best chance the "establishment" has of winning of nomination, but his misstep in Saturday's debate (#RobotRubio) and his subsequent incredibly disappointing finish in New Hampshire have put a bit of a damper on his run. This is also the point in the post where I'm obligated to tell you that since the current primary / caucus system was implemented, neither the Republicans nor the Democrats have nominated someone who lost both Iowa and New Hampshire since the Democrats nominated former President Bill Clinton back in 1992. The Republicans have never nominated someone who has lost both Iowa and New Hampshire (this dates back to 1976). Even after saying all that, how Senator Rubio bounces back in South Carolina and Nevada will be huge heading into Super Tuesday (March 1, which holds twelve states' primaries) and the all important March 15 (which holds perhaps the two most important states for the Republican candidates this year: winner-take-all Florida and winner-take-all Ohio). If he can return to his post-Iowa momentum and not let something like what happened in New Hampshire happen again, he'll still have a strong chance, but he's on thin ice as of now. Governor Kasich pulled off a big second place finish in New Hampshire, but his money situation is by far the worst of the five Republicans with a shot. He'll desperately try to hold on until Ohio on March 15, the state that he's the Governor of and is very popular in, but the states in between now and Ohio don't bode well for him. Finally, there's Governor Bush. Once upon a time, Governor Bush was considered the overwhelming favorite to win the nomination, but since then, his poll numbers and net favorability ratings have taken a dive. His relatively decent performance in New Hampshire has added a bit of new life into his campaign, but Governor Bush is in a precarious position. He has more than enough money, so he can theoretically stick around for quite some time. At this point, Florida is easily the most important state in the near future for him. If he can win Florida, he'll be right back in the running. Given the way the race has been thus far, I would not be surprised in the least bit if we saw a brokered convention. Mr. Trump has the best chance to win the nomination prior to the convention, and the longer two or three of Senator Rubio, Governor Kasich, and Governor Bush stick around, the more likely they could continue to split votes, which means the more likely Mr. Trump or Senator Cruz can take advantage. If the "establishment" can rally around one of those three, which I believe will happen relatively soon, we could be in for a long nomination process (and maybe one in which my vote in the Pennsylvania primary actually means something on April 26). If not, we may be seeing a runaway nomination for either Mr. Trump or Senator Cruz. Looking forward, the next vote is next Saturday, February 20. The Nevada caucuses are that day for the Democrats, and the South Carolina primary is that day for the Republicans. The Republicans then move to Nevada for their caucuses on February 23, while the Democrats move to South Carolina for their primary on February 27. After that, it's Super Tuesday on March 1. We're in for a fun ride these next few weeks. By: Stephen C. I know I said last week that Ohio Governor John Kasich was the third to last profile, but one of the final two, Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig, officially dropped from the running within the past week, so that means that this week is the final Presidential Profile. As we are about one year from the Presidential election, I guess that's fitting. Thank you for reading about the candidates, and I hope you learned something to help make your decision on who to vote for a bit easier. Obviously, as the field continues to narrow, or as your state's primary / caucus or the general election come up, feel free to visit back to refresh yourself on where the candidates stand. Every profile is categorized under the "Presidential Profile" label on the right hand side of your screen (scroll down a little if you don't see it). Former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore is the last in our series (which ended up being 21 parts. That's a lot of people running. 23 people declared, and we detailed 21 of them here. Not too bad). Mr. Gilmore served one term as Governor of Virginia, from 1998 to 2002, as he could not serve consecutive terms due to the Virginia Constitution. He has been out of political office since that time, although he briefly explored running for President in 2008 (he dropped out pretty soon after declaring) and ran for a seat in the Senate for Virginia in 2008 (he ended up losing the general election), but has decided to jump back in for the 2016 Presidential race. Prior to serving as Governor, he served in the United States Army as a Counterintelligence Agent during the Vietnam War. He also was the Attorney General of Virginia immediately before being elected Governor, and served as the chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC) for one year during his tenure as Governor. Mr. Gilmore received both his Bachelor's degree and his J.D. from the University of Virginia. Social
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Mr. Gilmore seems to be ranked 15th out of the 15 Republicans currently running. He's hardly a factor in any poll, he's tied for last in the prediction markets, and he's struggled to even make the undercard GOP debates (CNN and CNBC both did not invite him to their debates, stating that he failed to qualify as a result of his poor poll numbers). It's easier to see former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley win the Democratic nomination (he's only about 52 points behind former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) than it is to see Mr. Gilmore win the Republican nomination. I would expect him to drop out relatively soon, especially if he fails to qualify for the undercard debate for the third time in a row next week.
By: Stephen C. Ohio Governor John Kasich is the third to last profile that we'll cover. After being elected Governor in 2010, Governor Kasich was easily re-elected in 2014. Prior to serving as Governor, Governor Kasich was a nine-term Congressmen in the House of Representatives, serving from 1983-2001, and also served as a state Senator from 1979-1982 (he was elected at 26, the youngest person ever elected to the Ohio state Senate). In between his tenure as Congressman and his election as Governor, he was a Managing Director at Lehman Brothers and was a TV personality on Fox News. He even briefly exploring running for President back in 1999, before dropping out of the race and endorsing eventual winner President George W. Bush. Governor Kasich graduated from THE Ohio State University with a degree in political science. Social
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On the surface, Governor Kasich seems like he would be everything the Republican party would want in a candidate. He's the popular Governor of arguably the most crucial swing state (no Republican has ever won the White House without winning Ohio, dating back to the founding of the Republican party in 1854), having won re-election in 2014 by a massive 31 points. He served in Congress for nine terms, including serving as Chairman of the House Budget Committee for six years and a member of the House Armed Services Committee for all 18 years in Congress. He even hosted a show on Fox News for six years. Still, that "dream" Republican résumé hasn't translated into success at the polls. He had a bit of a mini-surge after his great performance in the first debate (aided by it being a very pro-Kasich audience since the debate was set in Cleveland, OH), but even that surge only took him to about 5% nationally in the polls. He came out swinging in last night's debate, mostly questioning whether front runners Dr. Ben Carson and Mr. Donald Trump were qualified to be President, and then touting that he was, but it was overall seen as a neutral night for him. Governor Kasich is viewed to be one of the more moderate Republicans running, and due to this, it seems like his chief competition for votes in a Republican primary would be former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Ideologically, Governor Kasich and Governor Bush are quite similar, and adding their poll numbers together would put them in at third place right now, just in front of Florida Senator Marco Rubio and behind Dr. Carson and Mr. Trump. Even so, Governor Kasich has struggled to gain widespread support and gain any traction in the polls. In fact, he may not even be best positioned to take advantage of Governor Bush's struggles. Both Senator Rubio and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie had stronger debate performances last night, and both could start to poach support away from Governor Bush. Governor Kasich will have a decent chance in New Hampshire (he's currently sixth), but it's hard to see him gain support in the more conservative states' primaries that follow New Hampshire. Unless Governor Bush drops out of the race prior to New Hampshire, which we'll label as "unlikely" despite a relatively poor performance last night, it's hard to see Governor Kasich being the Republican nominee.
By: Stephen C. Admit it. Prior to Tuesday's debate, you completely forgot that anyone was running for the Democratic Party's nomination for President of the United States other than former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senator Bernie Sanders, and possibly Vice President Joe Biden. I can't really blame you. In fact, the last time we even got a chance to cover a Democrat in this series was almost three months ago because there are so many Republicans vying for their party's nomination. But there are six confirmed Democrats running for the nomination, with Vice President Biden potentially being the seventh. Other than Mrs. Clinton and Senator Sanders, the other four Democrats definitely running are former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, former Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee, Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig (although he wasn't included in the debate on Tuesday, Professor Lessig is running for the nomination), and, this week's spotlight, former Virginia Senator Jim Webb. Mr. Webb served as Senator from the state of Virginia for one term from 2007-2013, choosing not to run for re-election after his lone term. Mr. Webb also served as Secretary of the Navy under President Ronald Reagan from 1987-1988 and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs from 1984-1987, also under President Reagan. He attended the University of Southern California on a Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps scholarship for two years prior to earning appointment to the United States Naval Academy and served in the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, achieving the rank of Captain. After his retirement from the Marine Corps, Mr. Webb obtained his J.D. from Georgetown University. Social
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Mr. Webb's candidacy seems to be a longshot in every sense of the word. Many weren't even sure he was actually going to run, so it was a mild surprise to see him on the debate stage on Tuesday, although it seemed like he spent most of the debate arguing with moderator Anderson Cooper over how much time he actually had to speak. He's among the more conservative Democrats running, with his stance on guns, the environment, and immigration being at odds with the mainstream Democratic Party. It would take a near miracle for Mr. Webb to secure the nomination, especially after an underwhelming performance on Tuesday. His national poll average is sitting just under 1%, more than 42 points behind Mrs. Clinton and more than 15 points behind the undeclared Vice President Biden. He's 37 points behind Mrs. Clinton in Iowa and 38 points behind Senator Sanders in New Hampshire. As I said, longshot.
By: Stephen C. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is the next person we'll cover running for President of the United States. He is one of the now 15 Republicans seeking the party's nomination (the field shrunk just a little bit more when former frontrunner Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker dropped out of the race following two poor debate performances. Looks like you'll have to wait four years for my Presidential Profile on him). Governor Christie was elected the Governor of New Jersey in 2009 and was easily re-elected in 2013. Prior to serving as Governor, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as the United States Attorney for New Jersey (if you've watched either debate, you know that already) and also served as the county legislator in Morris County, NJ. Governor Christie also currently serves as the Chairman of the Republican Governors Association. He graduated from the University of Delaware with a B.S. in political science, and obtained a J.D. from the Seton Hall University School of Law. Social
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Governor Christie, believe it or not, was once upon a time considered the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, having been in first place as recently as one year ago today. From that time, he has dropped to tenth nationally, including 13th in Iowa and ninth in New Hampshire. Many Republicans biggest issue with Governor Christie is that he is considered to be too moderate. Generally, besides former New York Governor George Pataki, Governor Christie is viewed as the most moderate candidate in the Republican field. Although that generally plays to a candidate's favor when speaking of a general election, Governor Christie's favorability ratings aren't all that high on either side of the aisle. To his credit, he has performed relatively well in both Republican debates so far, but it really hasn't shown much in the polls. Unless there some huge shift that causes the Republican base to support the more moderate Governor, it's tough to see Governor Christie lasting that long past New Hampshire.
By: Stephen C. A lot has happened since my last Presidential Profile a month ago. On the Republican side, we've officially had our first dropout of the race (former Texas Governor Rick Perry) while Washington outsiders businessman Donald Trump and retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson led the rest of the field by a wide margin prior to last night's circus, I mean debate. Former favorites, such as former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, have nosedived in those same polls. The Republican field is still pretty open with the amount of people in it, but Mr. Trump especially is proving to be more than just a sideshow (I expect a substantial drop in Dr. Carson's numbers after a very underwhelming performance last night. But who knows? Trying to figure out the Republican polls thus far has been pretty much pointless). On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State, and presumed nominee, Hillary Clinton has faced an incredible backlash, to the point where her inevitable nomination a few months ago is looking like anything but a sure thing, so much so that Vice President Joe Biden is reportedly seriously considering making another run at the White House. In fact, Mrs. Clinton currently trails Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in New Hampshire. As the article says, a large part of Senator Sanders' lead is due to independent voters, who are allowed to vote in the New Hampshire primary, but Mrs. Clinton and Senator Sanders are neck-and-neck among Democrats as well. Senator Sanders' success thus far in the campaign would be dominating news stories if not for a certain real estate mogul on the GOP side of the conversation. Mrs. Clinton is still the presumptive nominee for the Democratic party, but it's a long way to November 8, 2016, and the both sides of the field have proven it can change rapidly in just a few short months. Today, however, we look at the credentials of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. Governor Jindal is another of the (many) longshots for the Republican nomination. His polling has not looked great, as he's eleventh in Iowa and 14th in New Hampshire, and in an effort to increase his exposure, he's come out attacking Mr. Trump (many Republicans have tried to attach themselves to the media attention that has come anytime Mr. Trump is mentioned, and Governor Jindal is just the latest. For the record, this week was going to be about Governor Jindal even before he decided to try this tactic since I'm going in order of when the candidates announced. Just worked out that way). Before being elected Governor in 2007, Governor Jindal served in Congress, representing the state of Louisiana, from 2005-2008 and was appointed by President George W. Bush as the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for for Planning and Evaluation (basically, he was the Secretary of Health and Human Services' chief adviser). He also served as the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. Governor Jindal graduated from Brown University with honors, double majoring in biology and public policy, and received an MLitt from the University of Oxford in political science with an emphasis on health care. Social
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Unfortunately for Governor Jindal, his polling would suggest that he needs a lot of help to contend for the nomination in 2016. He was probably better suited to run in 2012, but now that he's running in 2016, in such a crowded field, where he's not nearly as popular as he was four years ago, it's much more difficult for Governor Jindal to make his way through the rest of the Republicans. There are too many other candidates that are ahead of him in the polls that are saying a lot of the same things that he's saying. His health care plan was supposed to be what would set him apart, but with so many other Republicans calling for the defunding and repeal of President Obama's health care plan, Governor Jindal just seems to be lost in the noise. That's not a great combination for a comeback. Unless there is some monumental shift in the coming weeks, realistically, Governor Jindal may not even make it to Iowa.
By: Stephen C. Businessman Donald Trump became the twelfth member of the Republican party to announce his candidacy for the President of the United States. Mr. Trump has been the field's biggest wild card, speculating in past elections whether to run or not, until finally confirming his run in 2016. Despite his polarizing nature, Mr. Trump quickly climbed up the polls into the top spot in the GOP field. The real estate mogul attended Fordham University for two years before transferring to and graduating from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business with a Bachelor's degree in Economics. After graduation, he joined his father's company in 1968, and by 1971, he was given control of the company he re-named The Trump Organization. Since that time, he has expanded the company into a multi-billion dollar empire. Other than his real estate ventures, Mr. Trump is well known as the former host of the popular show The Apprentice and owner of both the Miss Universe and Miss USA beauty pageants. Politically, Mr. Trump has never ran for office until now. He has said he considered himself a Republican for most of his life, except for the years when President George W. Bush was in office when he was registered as a Democrat, before switching back to the Republican party in 2009, then to an Independent in 2011, and then finally back to the Republican party in 2012. Social
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Mr. Trump has without question turned this race on its head. Thought to be a sideshow at the beginning of his campaign, he quickly moved up in the polls to the top spot out of all Republicans. His inflammatory remarks, on topics ranging from illegal immigration to women to just about everything else you can think of, have caused some pause from the Republican party, but the voters still seem to favor Mr. Trump, as he maintained his position in the top spot following last weeks debate obtaining 23% of the vote (Texas Senator Ted Cruz is in second with 13%, retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson is in third at 11%, and former HP CEO Carly Fiorina and Florida Senator Marco Rubio round out the top five at 8% each). The biggest issue facing Mr. Trump is the fact that he is viewed so unfavorably by Republicans and Democrats alike. No one in the entire field is as polarizing as him. No one. The fact that many Republicans refuse to support him, no matter what he does or says, could cost him the nomination. Of course, Mr. Trump could always run as a third-party independent candidate, a move that has been speculated at length, with Mr. Trump adding more fuel to the fire during last Thursday's debate when he said that he was seriously considering a third-party run if he failed to obtain the Republican nomination, adding that he wanted to be the Republican nominee, but would look into other options if that was not the case. Mr. Trump is the wildcard in this race. Plain and simple. It's highly unlikely that he can win a general election due his unfavorability ratings, but if he continues to dominate the polls as he has so far, he may be running for President in some capacity, regardless of if he actually wins the Republican nomination.
By: Stephen C. One of the early favorites to win the Republican nomination, former Florida Governor John Ellis "Jeb" Bush became the eleventh of 17 Republicans running for President of the United States. The son of former President George H.W. Bush and the brother of former President George W. Bush, Governor Bush was appointed as Florida's Secretary of Commerce in 1987 before his resignation in 1988 and ran unsuccessfully for Governor in 1994 before being elected Governor in 1998 and successfully re-elected in 2002. He also volunteered on his father's Presidential campaigns in 1980 and 1988, and he was the campaign manager for Florida Congresswoman Ilena Ros-Lehtinen successful Congressional bid in 1989. He graduated from the University of Texas with a bachelor's degree in Latin American studies. Social
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No Republican has fundraised nearly as well as Governor Bush, and it's definitely helping him. He's safely within the top three Republican candidates leading up to tonight's debate, trailing only businessman Donald Trump and leading Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Even so, Governor Bush has some very big concerns that go along with him, namely that he isn't viewed as "conservative enough" in the eyes of many Republicans and, well, frankly, his last name in the eyes of just about everyone else. Because of his obvious close ties to specifically President Bush 43, it has been difficult for Governor Bush to make much headway to outside wings of the GOP beyond the "establishment." A perfect example of this was his handling of the question when asked if, knowing what we know now, would he invade Iraq? The answer to this question has almost universally been "no" by just about everyone running for President in 2016; however, Governor Bush stumbled over the question, seemingly not wanting to throw his brother under the bus. It's areas like these, especially if they come up tonight or any subsequent debates, interviews, etc. that Governor Bush needs to handle better. He'll most likely be among the leaders through at least the New Hampshire primary, and he's as good a bet as anyone else in the crowded Republican field to ultimately secure the party's nomination (although it's unclear whether Glee will be proven correct and he'll name Sue Sylvester as his running mate if he does get nominated. I give it a 50/50 shot right now), but it's a simple fact that Governor Bush is a vulnerable frontrunner, as evidenced by the fact that he's dropped as low as third (he's currently second) despite leading most polls for much of the pre-announcement season (or I guess the pre-Trump season). A Bush vs. Clinton sequel isn't nearly as inevitable as it may have seemed just a few months ago.
By: Stephen C. Former Texas Governor Rick Perry is the latest individual in our wonderful Presidential Profile series. Governor Perry became the tenth Republican to enter the race after also running for the nomination in 2012 before his campaign ultimately failed due to, in part, his disappointing debate performances. Governor Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 to serve under then-Governor, eventual President, George W. Bush. After President Bush was elected to the Presidency in 2000, Governor Perry ascended to the Office of Governor for Texas. He was subsequently re-elected three times, in 2002, 2006, and 2010, before deciding not to seek re-election in 2014. Instead, Governor Perry has set his sights on the White House. Prior to serving as Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Texas, Governor Perry served as the Texas Commissioner of Agriculture and a member of the Texas House of Representatives (he was elected as a Democrat, but switched parties during his term). He attended Texas A&M University for his undergraduate degree in animal science and obtained the rank of Captain in the United States Air Force. Social
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Governor Perry has been a bit of a roller coaster candidate. His start to the 2012 election season made him a serious contender then, but the memory of his debate gaffs that derailed his 2012 campaign seem to also have his 2016 campaign off to a slow start. He has yet to make any serious headway in the national polls, and he's in danger of not being in the top ten candidates that are invited to the first GOP debate on August 6. It's not a stretch to say that no candidate needs a strong showing at the debates more than Governor Perry, so if he doesn't even get invited on stage, well, it's not exactly ideal. Governor Perry will continue to tout his record as Governor of the second largest state in the Union and his plan for immigration and border security as the chief reasons that he deserves to be the Republican nominee. Still, the ghosts of his 2012 campaign seem to be lingering here for 2016. The first step to putting 2012 behind him is getting on stage next Thursday night and delivering a strong performance. If he can't do that, Governor Perry's campaign won't make to Iowa, let alone past it.
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Stephen C.If nothing else, I am consistent. I got LASIK to correct my vision, so I have no flaws. Stephen H.I am so damn good looking. I am also a guest contributor at this point who will probably never post again. Archives
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