Republican Presidential Candidates

Below is the current list of 2016 Republican presidential candidates in roughly the order of most likely to be nominated to least likely. The strengths and weaknesses of each one in the primaries are listed. Note that what is a strength in the primaries may be a weakness in the general election and vice versa. For example, Donald Trump is anti-immigrant, which may help him in the primaries, but hurt him in the general election.

Candidate Advantages in Primaries Disadvantages in Primaries
Donald Trump
Donald Trump
  • The most famous Republican candidate
  • Loved by "poke-'em-in-the-eye" voters
  • Has been atop the polls for months
  • Actually created thousands of jobs
  • Can't be bribed, could self-fund
  • Says things no one else dares to say
  • Not a politician
  • Brilliant self-promoter
  • Has won the majority of primary contests, been competitive in the rest
  • Endorsed by Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ)
  • The most infamous Republican candidate
  • Would be crushed by Clinton, whose oppo research team is already hard at work
  • Establishment will do anything to stop him; some may defect if he's nominated
  • Used to be fairly liberal
  • Not exactly sure where the Middle East is
  • Thinks "nuclear triad" is a rock band
  • Demeaned John McCain's war record
  • Lots of sexist and racist remarks
  • His hair gets more attention than Hillary's
  • Hesitated before disavowing the KKK
  • Endorsed by Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ)
Ted Cruz
Ted Cruz
  • Republican establishment hates him
  • Called Mitch McConnell a liar
  • Tea party darling
  • Young, fiery, and very conservative
  • Surprisingly good at fund raising
  • Excellent speaker and debater
  • Won Iowa
  • Won the biggest state so far: Texas
  • Won Alaska and Oklahoma
  • Machiavellian "evil genius," like Nixon
  • Republican establishment hates him
  • First-term senator
  • For a first-term senator, has a lot of enemies
  • Has more enemies than most six-term senators
  • Not very likable
  • Masterminded the 2013 government shutdown
  • Having trouble securing the evangelical vote, much less any other constituency
  • Winning Iowa often means very little; ask Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee
  • Texas is his home state; win there not particularly instructive
  • Alaska and Oklahoma are very idiosyncratic
  • "Lyin' Ted" not as good as Nixon at hiding his dirty tricks
John Kasich
John Kasich
  • Twice elected in swing state of Ohio
  • Could become establishment fallback if he wins his home state
  • Would win some Democrats in general election
  • Not well known
  • Presently trailing Trump in Ohio polls
  • Running on competence, not ideology
  • Said St. Peter likes poor people
  • Supported Medicaid expansion, Common Core in Ohio
  • Has performed poorly in debates
Marco Rubio
Marco Rubio
  • American-dream type biography
  • Young and telegenic, sort of like Jack Kennedy
  • Very charismatic
  • From the mother of all swing states
  • Sounds presidential when delivering talking points
  • Winning the "endorsement" primary, for what it's worth
  • Has misrepresented elements of his biography
  • First-term senator
  • Something of a lightweight on policy
  • Supported immigration bill before he opposed it
  • Fox News washed their hands of him
  • Doesn't do well when going off-script
  • Sometimes turns into MarcoBot even when staying on script
  • Personal finances raise a lot of questions
  • Help for felonious brother-in-law raises a lot of questions
  • Has won a grand total of one state (Minnesota)
  • "Little Marco" kind of fits