6. John Kasich: Give us the right odds and wed bet a bundle on the Ohio governor. Kasich is itching to run, hes excellent on the Sunday talk shows, and hes been a good governor of a crucial state. Kasich is prickly and combative, but since when was that a liability? Kasichs strongest argument is simple — hed be a good president.
5. Rand Paul: Hes off to a pretty slow start, isnt he? Paul, a Kentucky senator, has alienated the GOP establishment with his personal attacks and his dovish geopolitical views. Paul is the most difficult candidate to analyze — do young people really like him? Not as much as they liked his father, in our opinion. Paul could be the first major dropout, or stay in the hunt until May.
4. Ted Cruz: He has raised a ton of money and he means business. Cruz, a Texas senator, could do very well in the early primaries and hes a fantastic debater. Could he win a general election? Its difficult to envision Cruz capturing more than 15 states, but the caucus voters in Iowa dont always care. The conventional wisdom is that hes already running for 2020, but Cruz is a fiercely disciplined young man in a hurry who cant be counted out in 2016..
3. Scott Walker: Hes lost some altitude in the past couple of months, and hes still a work in progress. Plus, Wisconsin has budget problems that will require Gov. Walker to spend more time in Madison. A harsh conclusion is that Walker could be the 2016 version of Tim Pawlenty; but hes a terrific campaigner, so we subscribe to the view that Walker could win the vice presidential nomination at the very least.
Ah, thank you kindly.
Cruz will be who I cast my vote for. I could also see myself voting for Walker should Cruz not get the nomination, but I am still suspicious of Walker on illegal amnesty.
Jeb Bush is a non-starter, and so is Rubio.
I will not vote for either under any circumstance.