Free Republic

The back-and-forth between Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz -- battling each other to become Donald Trump's chief competitor -- escalated to new heights on Thursday as Cruz's campaign apparently photoshopped a jubilant Rubio with President Obama and Rubio's campaign fired back by accusing Cruz of "dishonest tactics." What appears to be a doctored image of a smiling Marco Rubio shaking the hand of President Obama appears on the website, TheRealRubioRecord.com, which is paid for by Cruz's campaign. On that site, the text reads: "After more than seven years of the destructive policies of President Obama, we shouldn't replace him with...

Republican primary front-runner Donald Trump late Wednesday declined to attack Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in the wake of news that the Texas senator misreported campaign finances, but did acknowledge that it was a "very big thing." "Well, I heard it's a big thing. I know nothing about it. But I hear it's a very big thing," Trump said in an interview on Bloomberg's "With All Due Respect." "I hope he solves it. I think he's a nice guy, and I hope he gets it solved." Trump has previously attacked GOP primary rivals for being bought by big donors, flouting his...

For months, Ted Cruz has laughed off Donald Trump's barbs, berated reporters who mentioned him and gone to near-comic lengths to publicly express enthusiasm for the real estate mogul's rival candidacy. Cruz isn't laughing anymore.

Here is a recurring frustration during election season: Candidates who seem attractive before the race begins suddenly sound squishier or change their positions once they hit the campaign trail.On the issue of cronyism, there is one noticeable exception during this year's campaign. In spite of what could be perceived as a political risk, one candidate has remained true to his opposition to (and his commitment to end) the terrible renewable-fuel standard, which requires blending ethanol and other biofuels into the gasoline supply, thereby driving food prices up and creating all sorts of distortions in the energy market: That's Senator Ted...

Trump leads among men with 39% of support, compared to 21% of men who support Cruz and 13% of men who support Rubio. Trump also leads among women with 29% support, while Cruz and Rubio have about equal support from women—13% and 14%, respectively. Perhaps surprisingly, Trump also has the highest support among white evangelical voters—33%. Although Ben Carson did fairly well among white evangelicals (12%), the group heavily favored Trump. Cruz also did well with white evangelicals, with 2 in 10 supporting him.