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The one question left unanswered amid the fight over campaigns sharing media reports about Ben Carson dropping out is why the report was so easy to believe in the first place.  Carson’s campaign has been a series of stops and starts over the past few months – with a smattering of book promotion in between.  It is through that prism that Carson’s Florida swing to pick up his laundry was viewed. But first, a look at what happened on caucus night is in order.  Yes, CNN reported that it was “unusual” for a candidate who is “serious” about winning to...

The establishment has spent the past few weeks warning conservatives that Ted Cruz is simply too mean and nasty to be the Republican Party's nominee for president. "We'll lose if he's our nominee," said Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah."His ability to grow the vote of the Republican Party is almost zero," said South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham."There's no doubt he has harmed relationships," added Sen. John McCain of Arizona."There'll be wholesale losses if he's the nominee," former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole warned. "Our party is not that far right."Aside from their moderate political philosophy and a shared loathing of Cruz,...

For the liberal media, there might not be a greater hate object than Texas Senator Ted Cruz. The consistent conservative’s win in Iowa and rise in the polls will probably mean even more heightened attacks from journalists. Which would be remarkable, given liberals in the chattering class have already compared him to Nazis, the KKK and even pointed a figurative gun to his head. The following is a collection of the Worst Media Attacks on Ted Cruz (so far): ...

Rand Paul's loss looks to be Ted Cruz's gain in New Hampshire. With polling averages in the low single digits, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul dropped out of the presidential primary on Wednesday morning. And analysis of recent polling data suggests his libertarian-leaning supporters will move toward Cruz, the brash U.S. senator from Texas. "Cruz has a libertarian streak as well," said Dante Scala, an associate professor of political science at University of New Hampshire. “His big concern is to build a bridge between...

A top staffer for Sen. Rand Paul’s campaign said Wednesday that Donald Trump was a key reason for Paul’s failed presidential bid. Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul announced Wednesday morning that he was dropping out of the race for the White House after a poor performance at the Iowa Caucuses. Paul’s Chief Strategist Doug Stafford led a conference call with reporters Wednesday morning where he said Trump sucked the “oxygen out of the room,” making it nearly impossible for Paul to get his message out.

Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz on Wednesday tore into rival Donald Trump, saying the billionaire businessman is "losing it" and doesn't have the right temperament to be president. "He's losing it," Cruz said at a rally in Goffstown, N.H. "We need a commander in chief, not a Twitter-er in chief. We need someone with the judgment and temperament to keep this country safe. "I don't know anyone who would be comfortable with someone who behaves this way having his finger on the button...

On his radio program today, Rush Limbaugh dropped a bombshell report that the rumors of Ben Carson dropping out on Monday were actively encouraged by the Rubio campaign. [Listen] CNN reported that Dr. Carson was on his way back to Florida after the Iowa Caucuses. Staffers working for the Cruz campaign reportedly heard the story and began telling caucus-goers Monday night that Dr. Carson planned on dropping out of the race, allegedly attempting to swing voters for Cruz. According to Limbaugh, however, there are reports that the Rubio campaign is just as much to blame for spreading these rumors, trying...

One of the key metrics on the strength of a campaign is how well their fundraising, and allocation of resources are going. In that measure Ted Cruz's campaign is on fire. According to FEC reports, for the most recent filing period, Ted Cruz had more cash on hand than the Republican National Committee. For the period ending on December 31, 2015 Cruz reported having $18,734,794.46 cash on hand. For the same end date the Republican National Committee had $18,723,782 on hand. Cruz had about $11,000 more in his war chest than the RNC. It shows a particular strength for his...

HENNIKER, N.H. - For months, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) has tried to poach libertarian-leaning voters here away from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). Now, with Paul's exit from the race, Cruz has even more of an opening to make inroads with supporters of the Kentucky Republican. Cruz is running as a tea-party darling and evangelical Christian, constituencies that helped propel him to victory in the Iowa caucuses. But he is also attempting to expand that base, particularly with libertarian-leaning supporters. Here in New Hampshire, Cruz speaks of limited government, gun rights and privacy. "But part of the reason we're more competitive...

Senator Ted Cruz is now the frontrunner in the Republican race for the White House.But if you believe the Mainstream Media and the political pundits - Marco Rubio won the Iowa Caucus. Just look at yesterday's news coverage - they marginalized Senator Cruz - and glorified Senator Rubio.And that's the narrative. Cruz may have won - but Rubio is more electable. And yet - the numbers in Iowa tell a very different story.One out of three evangelical voters chose Cruz - so did  four out of ten very conservative voters.And 26 percent of young voters - 18 to 29 -...

"They would rather Hillary Clinton, they would rather bankrupt our kids and grandkids, they'd rather lose the Supreme Court for a generation, they'd rather see our religious liberties stripped away, our Second Amendment taken away, they would rather see Islamic terrorism continue to rise and Israel continue to be under assault than actually have a true Reagan conservative in the White House who believes what he says. That shows just how messed up Washington is, but it also shows why frustration is volcanic."...

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) announced Wednesday that he is suspending his presidential campaign, bringing an end to a bid that began with aspirations of expanding the libertarian base that his father, Ron Paul, built into a powerful national coalition. "It's been an incredible honor to run a principled campaign for the White House," Paul said in a statement. "Today, I will end where I began, ready and willing to fight for the cause of Liberty."

... As has been widely reported, Donald Trump's appeal has mostly been to blue-collar voters, and he has risen to the top of the polls by blasting open-border immigration policies and the business-as-usual way of Republican-and American-politics. It is therefore striking that the Iowa entrance polling suggests that Trump lost among blue-collar voters (or, more specifically, among voters without college degrees) to Ted Cruz...

I've knocked around Rand Paul quite a lot over the last year-plus, and I think most or all if it was well-deserved (I've also, it should be noted, praised him a few times as well, when he deserved it). But Paul's decision to drop out of the race today (before New Hampshire) in order to help unify the party to defeat Trump, shows that he, like Scott Walker, is a true Republican who believes in conservative principles, and for that he should be commended. See, there are two types of people who call themselves Republicans. The first are those who...

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul announced on Wednesday that he is suspending his 2016 campaign for president. "It's been an incredible honor to run a principled campaign for the White House," Paul said in a statement. "Today, I will end where I began, ready and willing to fight for the cause of Liberty." Paul finished fifth in Monday's Iowa caucuses with 4.5 percent of the vote -- behind rivals Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, Marco Rubio and Ben Carson. ·

This story is developing. Please check back for further updates.

Jeff Kaufmann: When I talk about intensity, Im talking about, were now getting about 100 phone calls and hour into RPI (Republican Party of Iowa)… To put that into perspective, we get usually 5 or 6 an hour normally. This is beyond the pale… A lot of Democrats and Independents are asking about changing their vote to Republican. The Secretary of State’s report last week indicated over 3,000 people have done that already. I think we’re going to see a little bit of a surge that way. Kuafmann credited the Trump and Rand Paul campaigns for this surge in new...

A week before Iowans met to caucus in 2012, polling suggested a slight lead for Ron Paul over Mitt Romney in the state. Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, who had been all over the state talking to voters, was in the single digits.

AMES, Iowa -- Oscar-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss - star of Jaws and Mr. Holland's Opus - was on hand, somewhat inexplicably. He quietly nabbed a reserved front-row seat as Cruz made his own entrance...

Ted Cruz has scored what is perhaps the most coveted endorsement in South Carolina, that of 3rd District Congressman Jeff Duncan. Duncan, who was elected to Congress in 2010 on a wave of tea party support, has become one of the biggest heroes of conservatives not only in South Carolina, but nationally as well. Duncan is a champion of Second Amendment rights and is a member of the House Liberty Caucus. Duncan became a true rock star among conservatives when he voted against John Boehner for reelection as Speaker of the House in January 2015...