[rineaux]

They allowed him to run because they didn't think he would get the attention.

Remember, Jeb had this one in the bag.

It was Jeb and Hillary as the nominee.

Same same but different candidates. Meaning of course Jeb is a guy Hillary is a..wait, I think Hill is a dude too.

[tbw2]

I remember a decade ago, it was certain to be Rudy Juliani Versus Hillary Clinton.

[Dave W]

One does not need permission from anyone to run for president. You register as a party member and you are free to run for president or dog catcher. As long as you pay the filing fee and obtain the registered signatures as required by the state, your name is on the ballot in that state and if you follow all the rules in all 50 states, you are on the ballot in all 50 states plus territories. Anyone can run for president. You do not need a party's permission.

I don't know how many were on New Hampshire's primary ballot this year, but in past primaries, there are often over 100 people on the ballot running for president, since it is easy to get on NH ballot. You pay a $1,000 filing fee and your name shows up on the ballot. I just googled this and in NH primary, there were 30 names on the republican ballot and 28 on the democrat ballot.