It is time for those below 2% to man up and drop out.
It is ridiculous that they are still wasting everyone’s time. Are they getting some financial reward to stay in?
Tax breaks or something else?
Many of them are there to split the delegate count in their state, so Bush doesn’t lose as much in delegate count. They will drop out as their primaries pass. Then they’ll release their delegates to Bush.
They get to spend money donated to their campaign funds. Travel and fine dining are fun things.
All candidates for federal office can draw salary AND benefits EQUAL to the office they are running for. The base salary for president is $400,000 a year, add in benefits, 'vacation time', 'sick time', etc.. So if you stay in the race (even if it is just on paper) for one year and one day, you're talking more than a million dollar payday from campaign funds.
So yes, there's a huge financial reward for staying in.
I agree they need to drop out, but if the donor money is still coming in they’ll stay in. I just read that Santorum is set to visit all 99 counties in Iowa.
“It is time for those below 2% to man up and drop out”
Let’s move that up to 5%!
“Are they getting some financial reward to stay in?”
Most likely they are there at the behest of the GOPe and they will get to keep for their personal use, any “unused” campaign funds.They are the GOPe’s flailing attempt to keep Trump from getting the nomination.
those running for federal office – including presidential candidates – must abide by strict FEC guidelines when it comes to their extra campaign money. They can donate an unlimited amount to a charity or political party. They can also, within limits, make contributions directly to other candidates. A campaign committee can give up to $2,000 per election to each candidate. If the committee is converted into a political action committee, the limit jumps to $5,000 – but to be established as a PAC, the committee would have to be in existence for six months, receive contributions from 50 donors, and make contributions to five recipients. What candidates can’t do with leftover money is use it for personal expenses. Retiring federal lawmakers used to be able to pocket extra cash and use it for cars, vacations, clothes, pet grooming, whatever – but that changed in 1989 with the passage of the Ethics Reform Act.It looks like there's some wiggle room here, as a candidate could donate the money to his own personal charity, or launder the money through a charity (i.e., Candidate A donates to the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Foundation puts Candidate A on the board the following year).
Campaign donations, like volume book purchases, could also be a way of laundering kickbacks.
I can't think of any other reason why anyone would be donating to the bottom tier candidates.
No - they’re splitters, and the ChamberofCommerceGOPe is paying for and using them in primary states where they siphon off sufficient votes from Jebo Gigio challengers to allow the standardbearer to march toward anointment when the Florida winner-take-all votes will be pasted to his crown. At least that is their hope...
You bet they are. They do what the elite tell them to do.
Yes, they can pay themselves $400,000 a year from their campaign funds, the salary of the President. They can do so for 2015 and 2016. There is an incentive to stay in and travel the country at donors’ expense.
They work for the GOPe. More voices to attack Trump.
There would still be 10 running!
“It is time for those below 2% to man up and drop out.”
Or at least pledge that they will not run as third party candidates.
I honestly didn’t even realize Santorum was running.
Agreed. This field is too big and its confusing the voters. Less than 2% now is never going to amount to anything.