Free Republic

'I think there's got to be something different for people to see that heart of yours.' In Iowa Saturday, Ron DeSantis heard from a supporter who suggested his campaign wasn’t successfully showing his “heart,” laying the blame on “consultants” as he questioned whether the Florida Governor could win the Presidency. During an event in Muscadine, which was hosted by the Never Back Down super PAC, the 2024 presidential candidate was confronted with criticism of how the DeSantis message is delivered. “I don’t know what your consultants are telling you, and it’s good for me to be here today to see...

The group chat was labelled “XXXX Lovelies” (presumably the name of their street); it included some of the women in the Cruz family’s neighbourhood. The subject was the cold weather they were experiencing in Texas, but it quickly turned to going away, when Heidi, the wife of Republican Senator Ted Cruz, asked whether any of the families were up for a trip to Cancun. The Cruz family getaway, of course, went viral, and the Texas senator, 50, faced fierce backlash after pictures emerged of the couple and their two daughters, Caroline, 12, and Cathryn, 10, flying out of the state...

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have opened up double-digit leads in New York ahead of the state's April 19 primary, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll. "The road to the convention goes through New York for both the Democrats and Republicans," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, which conducted this survey. "Right now, the front-runners look like they will erase recent setbacks and add significantly to their delegate margins." In the Republican race, Trump gets support from 54 percent of likely Republican primary voters - followed by John Kasich at 21...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Now, there's something else about these delegate fights that have taken place over the weekend where Cruz has just skunked Trump. It isn't even a contest. It is fascinating to watch. And, of course, the Trump people think that games are being played and that tricks are being pulled. But that's not happening. This is just somebody who understands the system using it. You know, we could go into a little discussion if you want about insider versus outsider, and I've tried to tell people: "These insiders are not just gonna let this stuff go, folks. They're...

As the media seeks to keep a story alive, with the help of Republican establishment figures, and the likes of Mark Levin, the odds of a “Brokered Convention” are evaporating as more analysts show Trump is on track to get 1310 delegates, making him the nominee, regardless of who is on the second ballot. Even if Trump fails to hit 1237, his team and John Kasichs are now blocking Ted Cruz, and other groups are destroying any chance of a brokered convention. Ohio Gov. John Kasich got fewer votes than Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the state’s presidential primary last...

David Coonradt came to the Colorado state Republican convention as part of Ted Cruz's “persuasion team,” a squad of volunteers working to secure more delegates to propel Cruz to the party's presidential nomination. He came ready to tout the Texas senator's gun-rights and antiabortion credentials, the most crucial information he had to impart appeared on the back of his neon orange Tshirt. “The official Ted Cruz slate,” the shirt blared, with the names of 13 prospective delegates below. More than 600 people were vying Saturday for 13 delegate slots for the Republican National Convention in July. The Cruz campaign wanted...

In his first Sunday show interview since taking on an expanded role in Donald Trump's campaign, Paul Manafort was quick to raise questions about the tactics Sen. Ted Cruz' campaign is using to secure delegates. After being asked whether threatening delegates is fair game in the hunt for the 1237 required to secure the republican nomination, Manafort responded, "It's not my style, and it's not Donald Trump's style … But it is Ted Cruz's style." He then called the Cruz campaign's methods "Gestapo tactics, scorched-earth tactics." "We're going to be filing several protests because reality is, you know, they are...

Front-runner’s adult children huddle with their father as staff divides among three competing aides. Donald Trump’s campaign overhaul has inflamed an internecine struggle among three of his closest advisors, creating an atmosphere that multiple sources likened to a political “Hunger Games.” According to interviews with more than a dozen people on or close to the campaign, staffers are increasingly dividing themselves into competing factions aligned with Trump’s three top officials – embattled campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, who still commands deep loyalty among many of the people he hired; deputy campaign manager Michael Glassner, who has a growing group of supporters;...

It looks like Ted is getting a taste of his own medicine. CNN reports from Lansing, Michigan; Ted Cruz suffered a rare convention loss Saturday after delegates backing John Kasich and Donald Trump boxed him out of key positions in the Michigan delegation. The Texas senator’s campaign ran eight delegates for eight committee spots and lost every one, alleging it was “double-crossed” by Kasich supporters. The Michigan delegation picked one Trump supporter, Matt Hall, and one Kasich supporter, Judi Schwalbach, for the two seats on the powerful rules committee. The Cruz campaign lost votes for both seats. The rules committee...

Ted Cruz's delegate-hunting operation is running rings around Donald Trump's team, and he's making gains because of it. In North Dakota last weekend and Colorado this weekend, Cruz's team is out-hustling and outmanuevering Donald Trump, probably picking up a majority of unbound and "uncommitted" delegates in both states. Fox News: While Donald Trump still holds the delegate lead in the GOP presidential primary race, his Achilles heel has been a perceived weakness in his ground game. Seeking to capitalize on this, Cruz has outmaneuvered Trump lately in the behind-the-scenes battle for delegates in places that don't assign them through traditional...

If you’ve spent any time on social media, particularly in the politicalsphere, chances are you’ve encountered an internet troll or two. This election cycle has been er, um… interesting. I never thought I’d long for the days the so-called Paulbots would troll my feeds lecturing me about liberty and the Constitution and Dr. Paul. At least most of those accounts were real. Alas… Not so in 2016. The Trumpbots, or accounts that seem to exist solely to attack those with unfavorable views of The Donald, are a special breed of vicious. I’ve learned it’s best to ignore, block, and move...

Remember when Barack Obama promised the world in 2008, only to leave some enthusiasts bereft after he failed to close Guantanamo, much less slow the rise of the oceans? If we elect a President Donald Trump, you ain't seen nothing yet when it comes to disillusionment. Imagine the fury among his supporters when their outsized hero is exposed as a huckster who cashes the check as soon as the car is off the lot. The brash billionaire has sold I-can-fix-it-just-you-watch pledges to millions of voters enraged about a steady stream of hollow political promises. To them, Trump towers as the...