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US presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has confirmed that there will be women on her shortlist for vice president, potentially making history if elected on an all-female ticket. The democrat politician's team confirmed, on 21 April, that women would make the cut, immediately leading to speculation about who the female candidate was, with liberal senator Elizabeth Warren's name coming up, although Clinton's campaign team did not put forward any names. Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, told the Boston Globe she wanted "the best person to make the case to the American people. "We'll start with a broad list and then begin...

Republican Donald Trump is calling on his remaining rivals to drop their presidential bids, saying neither Ted Cruz nor John Kasich has a path to the nomination. "They should both drop out of the race so that the Republican Party can unify!" Trump tweeted Thursday evening....

Donald Trump is now the only Republican presidential candidate with a realistic chance of winning the 1,237 votes to clinch the nomination before the national convention this summer. But getting there will be a tough undertaking, and one that leaves little room for error. Trump's commanding victory in New York, where he won more than 60% of the vote and the vast majority of the 95 delegates up for grabs, marked a turning point in the delegate race. The Manhattan real estate mogul now has improved his chances of winning the nomination outright, while his chief rival, Ted Cruz, would...

DO NOT VOTE ON THIS THREAD. This is the nightly DISCUSSION thread for the ongoing 2016 Free Republic Caucus. Per caucus rules, no comments are allowed on the caucus thread itself - hence this open chat thread. If you'd like to vote in the caucus, please look in the sidebar for the link, or check downthread here. Thanks, and let 'er rip! Windy Free Republic Caucus 2016 04/21

Half a billion. Minimum. That’s how much funding Donald Trump is likely to need if he becomes the GOP presidential nominee and runs against Hillary Clinton in the fall. The estimate comes from Anthony Scaramucci, founder of the hedge fund Skybridge Capital, who’s a prominent Republican donor. “If you do the math, he’ll need 15,000 $33,000 checks,” Scaramucci tells me in the video above. “That’s $495 million. He’s late to the party on that. If he’s going to be the nominee, he needs to start organizing that now.” Scaramucci is referring to the maximum amount individual donors can give each...

Paul Ryan has had a tough couple of months. The House GOP’s response to Puerto Rico’s debt crisis is stuck, with a big May 1 deadline looming. The leadership’s 2017 budget plan is stalled. And legislation to overhaul the Federal Aviation Administration hasn’t left the runway. With all the attention showered on Ryan’s non-interest in running for president, it’s easy to overlook the new speaker’s troubles running the House these days. Almost six months into the job, Ryan and his top lieutenants face questions about whether the Wisconsin Republican’s tenure atop the House is any more effective than that of...

Donald Trump professed his love for waterboarding during a campaign rally in Indianapolis, Indiana on Wednesday calling it “great.” While discussing ISIS, Trump said, “Now we’re living in medieval times. We’re weak, we’re ineffective.” After slamming Ted Cruz for his “weak, pathetic answer” at a debate regarding waterboarding, Trump said, “They asked me, What do you think about waterboarding, Mr. Trump?’ I said I love it. I love it, I think it’s great. And I said the only thing is, we should make it much tougher than waterboarding, and if you don’t think it works folks, you’re wrong. But you...

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — The Republican National Committee’s eight state convention threshold rule could be interpreted differently than anyone expects this summer in Cleveland. Donald Trump and Ted Cruz  97% argue that Ohio Gov. John Kasich could never become the nominee, because Kasich cannot win eight primary contests to be eligible. However, RNC Standing Rules Committee member Randy Evans told The Daily Caller at the Spring RNC Meeting Wednesday that a nominee does not need to “win” eight state primary contests to qualify to be put into contention — only the support of eight delegations at the convention. “You do...

Wyoming County is picturesque rolling hills country dotted with apple orchards and maple groves located in the western part of the state. Both the state of Wyoming and Wyoming County are predominantly white 92% with similar per capita income. Where they differ significantly is in their ability to vote within a Republican Primary Election. Although the State of Wyoming has a population 10 times the size of Wyoming County, only a fraction of a percentage of Wyoming republicans are chosen to vote for the delegates that pick the presidential nominee. Wyoming County, NY had a 40% voter turnout in 2016....

Sen. Ted Cruz for the first time said he believes the Republican Party is headed to a contested convention. Cruz had previously called a contested convention likely and that it seemed the party was heading in that direction. But after a disappointing third-place loss in New York Tuesday, the Texas Republican is no longer saying he plans to beat front-runner Donald Trump at the ballot box. "We are headed to a contested convention,” Cruz said in an interview with Philadelphia talk-radio personality Chris Stigall this morning. “At this point, nobody is getting 1,237. Donald is going to talk all the...

Congratulations to our presumptive nominee, Donald Trump! Great job in New York and throughout this campaign. Cruz and Kasich are now mathematically eliminated and just like all the others who were mathematically eliminated should concede and drop out so we can all unite behind our nominee and prepare to defeat the godless America-hating traitor Hillary Clinton in November. As conservatives and patriots, it's time to put bruised egos behind us, heal our differences and act united in the best interests of our nation. The media and the GOPe will try to keep us divided, of course, but we must not...

Donald Trump is close to the 50 percent mark among Connecticut likely Republican primary voters, while Ohio Gov. John Kasich tops Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas in the race for second place, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Likely Republican primary voters give Trump 48 percent, with 28 percent for Kasich and 19 percent for Cruz. Only 5 percent are undecided, but 25 percent of those who name a candidate say they might change their mind before the April 26 primary. By 59 – 33 percent, Connecticut Republicans want an outsider for president, rather than someone experienced in...

Gravis Marketing, a nonpartisan research firm, conducted a random survey of 1,038 likely Republican Primary voters and 1,026 likely Democratic Primary voters. The poll has a margin of error of ± 3.0% for Republicans and ± 3.1% for Democrats, all at the 95% confidence level. The poll was conducted from April 17th through the 18th. The total may not round to 100% because of rounding. The polls were conducted using automated telephone calls (IVR technology), with the results weighted by relevant voting demographics.

On his Fox News program last night, Shepard Smith revealed a conversation he said he had with former New York Senator Alfonse D’Amato in which D’Amato was quoted as saying that the Republican National Committee will change the rules to give Gov. John Kasich a shot at the nomination.

Stopping Trump and Clinton got harder after last night Last night's big wins in New York by Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton didn't fundamentally alter the delegate math; in fact, the results were pretty much what we expected. But what last night served to do was make it harder to stop the two frontrunners. And that could be especially true after next week's contests in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. Are the two races over? It's close to that on the Democratic side, while Trump is on a stronger path to a majority than he was two weeks...

Donald Trump has more delegates than any other Republican candidate, but he’ll need a majority — 1,237 — to clinch the GOP nomination for president. Using the controls below, decide how many delegates you think he’ll win in each remaining contest, and see how your projections compare with those of the experts we surveyed.

DO NOT VOTE ON THIS THREAD. This is the nightly DISCUSSION thread for the ongoing 2016 Free Republic Caucus. Per caucus rules, no comments are allowed on the caucus thread itself - hence this open chat thread. If you'd like to vote in the caucus, please look in the sidebar for the link, or check downthread here. Thanks, and let 'er rip! Windy Free Republic Caucus 2016 04/20

NEW YORK EXIT POLLS: CLINTON 54% SANDERS 46% TRUMP 61% KASICH 24% CRUZ 15% Flashing Now

The real estate mogul's final sprint for to lock down 1,237 delegates starts in New York. The billionaire is poised for a ringing victory that will take the edge off a brutal month of controversy and soaring unpopularity. It’s a chance for Trump to rewrite a campaign narrative that seemed to get away from him — and will likely be the first triumph in a cascade of victories across the northeast over the next week.

He’s a successful businessman making his first foray into politics. He wants to secure the southern border with Mexico and dump global trade deals. And like Donald Trump, he wants to be the Republican establishment's worst nightmare. He’s Paul Nehlen, who has emerged as a Republican rival to Paul Ryan, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, in his home district in Wisconsin. Ryan, the most powerful elected Republican in the country, is the epitome of that establishment. While many Republican operatives fear Trump’s tumultuous presidential bid will hurt House and Senate races this year, a handful of candidates...