# The 2016 Republican candidates **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 9, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444 "2015-01-09T22:38:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/1 "2015-01-09T22:38:42Z")
I was browsing [this site](http://2016.presidential-candidates.org/) of potential 2016 candidates and a few names seemed vaguely familiar: Scott Brown - a busted flush, right? Mitch Daniels - put his foot in it last time around; how’s he doing now? Kelly Ayotte - one of only two serious female Republican contenders on that list. (Condi won’t run.) Scott Walker - a serious contender? Nikki Haley - the other serious female contender. But will she suffer from racism from both whites and blacks? So tell me about their chances. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/2 "2015-01-09T23:27:16Z")
That’s quite a long list on the site you linked to. Even among those listed as “declared”, I haven’t heard of most of them. Among the Republicans, I’d say the big three are Chris Christie, Scott Walker, and Jeb Bush. I would never have believed that Jeb could be a serious candidate a year ago, given his brother’s disastrous eight years as President, but everything seems to be going right for him at the moment. Walker is immensely popular among Republicans after the way he laid down a strongly conservative agenda as Governor of Wisconsin and refused to be intimidated by threats, mobs, and bogus criminal charges. Christie would be my personal favorite. He’s an excellent communicator and debater with a solid record as governor of New Jersey. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/3 "2015-01-10T01:39:21Z")
ONly Walker is serious on that list, although Mitch Daniels would be in the top tier if he got in. His family just doesn’t want him to. Well, Nikki Haley would probably be second tier at the very least should she run, but I’ve seen no indication that she will. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/4 "2015-01-10T02:25:32Z")
That is a long list, which appears to consist of every Republican the author has ever heard of. I mean, Sarah Palin? I like **ITR champion** ’s list, though I’d add Kasich, and I’d almost add Romney. 3/4 of that list won’t run at all, and of those who do, maybe only five or six will be serious candidates. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/5 "2015-01-10T02:30:27Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Scott Brown - a busted flush, right? Brown is already planning to move to Vermont for the 2016 race after Senator Leahy announces his retirement. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/6 "2015-01-10T02:58:12Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > Among the Republicans, I’d say the big three are Chris Christie, Scott Walker, and Jeb Bush. Of those, only Jeb is electable, the others have too much baggage. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/7 "2015-01-10T03:21:52Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Brown is already planning to move to Vermont for the 2016 race after Senator Leahy announces his retirement. 😃 Yeah, we’ll have to find another woman to kick his ass until he gets the message. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/8 "2015-01-10T03:40:31Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Of those, only Jeb is electable, the others have too much baggage. If Clinton can win with her baggage, anyone can win. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/9 "2015-01-10T09:26:03Z")
Scott Walker will be sworn in as President of the United States of America, on January 20, 2017. I am calling it right now. Since it is legal for me to vote in the election preceding this future historical fact, I suppose it would be sadly unethical for me to take bets on it? But he stood up to the public employee unions and won. He’s a national hero (from a certain point of view) for that alone. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/10 "2015-01-11T23:51:02Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Of those, only Jeb is electable, the others have too much baggage. What baggage does Walker have? Surely the recall election is a point in his favour? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2015, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/11 "2015-01-12T00:24:31Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > What baggage does Walker have? Surely the recall election is a point in his favour? Surviving it may be one point, but having to go through it is negative two points. Canadates usually have strong support at home, that’s why Christie wanted to win by a landslide last time he was up for reelection. Walker is despised by a great many, including about 49% of his state. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2015, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/12 "2015-01-12T00:26:08Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > If Clinton can win with her baggage, anyone can win. What baggage does Clinton have? She won’t appeal to everyone (I’m lukewarm on her myself) but I wouldn’t say she has “baggage.” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2015, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/13 "2015-01-12T01:12:49Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Procrustus** : > > Surviving it may be one point, but having to go through it is negative two points. Canadates usually have strong support at home, that’s why Christie wanted to win by a landslide last time he was up for reelection. Walker is despised by a great many, including about 49% of his state. Which is also why Kasich is a name to watch, since he got a huge majority here. Especially since Ohio is pretty close to being a microcosm of the nation as a whole: We have very similar demographics for things like the urban/rural split, minority population, and so on, so a candidate who’s successful in Ohio is likely to be successful in a national election. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2015, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/14 "2015-01-12T02:03:43Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Which is also why Kasich is a name to watch, since he got a huge majority here. Especially since Ohio is pretty close to being a microcosm of the nation as a whole: We have very similar demographics for things like the urban/rural split, minority population, and so on, so a candidate who’s successful in Ohio is likely to be successful in a national election. Almost 20% of Presidents have come from Ohio. (It was a lot higher percentage when the last was elected; there have been none since Warren Harding.) 50% of Presidents who have died in office were Ohioans. Better take a good like at his VP nominee. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2015, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/15 "2015-01-12T02:17:52Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > If Clinton can win with her baggage, anyone can win. Most of that _baggage_ was made up by morons in the RW media. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2015, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/16 "2015-01-12T05:55:25Z")
The fact that they lie pretty easily comes from David Geffen, a close friend. Sure, there was a lot of mountains made out of a lot of molehills, but damn there are a lot of molehills. Give them credit, they are a family that knows what they can get away with and what they can’t. But she certainly can never claim to be the candidate of change, straight talk, and integrity. That will always be a built in weakness for her. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2015, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/17 "2015-01-12T07:38:29Z")
The other problem is that the Republican likely won’t be a Mitt Romney type. He’ll stand for something. Clinton has no firm principles. It’s going to be Grimes-McConnell, the very race that you guys said you didn’t want and was the reason for the Democrats’ failures in 2014. I said before, and I’ll say it again. you guys are headed for the exact same strategy in 2016 because your side simply doesn’t have any better ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2015, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/18 "2015-01-12T10:01:33Z")
Another Bush being a serious contender for a presidential election. If you’ll excuse me, I need to go get a stiff drink. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2015, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/19 "2015-01-12T11:40:27Z")
Here’s [Larry Sabato’s current ranking](http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/the-new-world-order/) of GOP hopefuls. It’s a very long list, which made my brain revisit some dialogue from _Firefly_: Saffron: He’s running for President. Mal: Well, who in the damn galaxy ain’t?! ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2015, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444/20 "2015-01-12T11:41:40Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Surviving it may be one point, but having to go through it is negative two points. Really? He’s the only US governor ever to survive a recall election and he increased his vote share. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2016-republican-candidates/709444.md?page=2)