2016 Candidate List

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See realtime coverage Conservative Dr. Ben Carson running for GOP presidential nomination

The Times-Picayune - NOLA.com - 11/6/2014‎

Tea Party favorite Dr. Ben Carson speaks during a campaign rally . . .

http://www.ontheissues.org/images/bluestar.gif Ben Carson on Immigration

Overwhelming majority want the southern border secured. (Jan 2012)
Deportation is moral low road; create guest worker program. (Jan 2012)

http://www.ontheissues.org/Ben_Carson.htm#Immigration

McCain: "Very Likely" Will Run for Pres. in 2016
Republican Sen. John McCain discusses Tuesday's elections, the likelihood of a presidential run in 2016 and his disapproval of President Barack Obama's policies after meeting with supporters at a Phoenix hotel. (Nov. 6) . . .

Associated Press Videos

“Tough Love” Neurosurgeon Ben Carson Is Going To Run For President

by 2Paragraphs in Daily Edition | October 18, 2014

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Ben Carson, "One Nation: What We Can All Do to Save America’s Future" cover (detail)

Dr. Ben Carson is a retired neurosurgeon best known for being the first to successfully separate conjoined twins joined at the head. He is also the conservative author of eight books including his latest, One Nation: What We Can All Do to Save America’s Future. In the book, Carson “admonishes politicians, particularly because of the growing national debt and Obamacare, and encourages Americans to take more individual responsibility for themselves.” He is preparing to make a White House bid, to run for the presidency. According to the Washington Post, Carson launched his own political action committee to support his nascent campaign in August (called USA First PAC).

In a new Bloomberg and Des Moines Register poll, Carson comes in second place to fellow Republican Mitt Romney, getting 11 percent of the vote. He leads within the margin of error against Ted Cruz (7 percent) and Rand Paul (10 percent).

http://2paragraphs.com/2014/10/tough...for-president/

Rand Paul is in a bind about 2016. What’s the problem?

Sen. Rand Paul (R) of Kentucky wants to run for reelection in 2016, but he's also considering a presidential bid. Kentucky won't allow him to run for both. But he's exploring options.

http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/nws/p/csm_logo_115.jpg By Linda Feldmann 3 hours ago

Sen. Rand Paul, the darling of libertarian-leaning Republicans, appeared to win big on election night. He helped his fellow Kentucky Republican – Mitch McConnell – win reelection to the Senate, setting Senator McConnell on course to become majority leader. Senator Paul also stumped for other Republicans in more than 30 states. His party won control of the Senate.

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Trashing the Party? Rand Paul Laments the GOP's 'Broken' Brand The Atlantic
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McConnell: 'I'm a big supporter of Rand Paul' for 2016 The Week (RSS)
Analysis: GOP rebels mind their political manners Associated Press

But the GOP failed in Kentucky in a key way: The party did not win a majority in the state House of Representatives. And that complicates Paul’s political future.

Paul has already said he plans to run for reelection to the Senate in 2016, and he has made no secret of his presidential ambitions. But Kentucky doesn’t allow a candidate’s name to appear on a ballot more than once. So unlike Joe Biden (2008) and Paul Ryan (2012), whose home states (Delaware and Wisconsin) allowed them to run for Senate and House, respectively, while running for vice president, Paul is barred from doing that.

Recommended: 16 Republicans who might run in 2016

Democrats in the Kentucky legislature’s lower chamber have said they won’t change the law. They’re hoping Paul will give up his Senate seat so he can run for president.

But a new gambit may be under way: Switch Kentucky’s May 2016 GOP primary to a statewide caucus system – since most caucuses don’t involve ballots. Kentucky Republicans are considering the idea, which Paul reportedly discussed with the chairman of the state party Tuesday night. The party committee’s governing body would have to approve the switch.

“I’m sure they would be very open to having a discussion and debate,”

Kentucky GOP chairman Steve Robertson told Politico. But, he said, there are questions about how it would work, and how much it would cost.

The party has until October 2015 to make a decision.

Another option might be for Paul not to compete for president in Kentucky – either in the primary or in the general election. He would be giving up the state’s convention delegates, but Kentucky is a small state. Same with the general election ballot: If he won the nomination but kept his name off the ballot in Kentucky, he’d be giving up the state’s eight electoral votes. Such an approach would certainly invite lawsuits.

In any event, running for two major offices at once might just be too much.
“I think that if Rand Paul tried to run for both Senate and president, it would be a nightmare for him,” says Stephen Voss, a political scientist at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. “It would mean that on the national stage, there’d be a home-grown critic – a well-funded one, lobbing all kinds of attacks on him separate from what his presidential opponents were up to.”

Two other Republican senators are in a similar boat: Marco Rubio of Florida and Rob Portman of Ohio. They’re both up for reelection in 2016, and both are thinking of running for president.

Senator Rubio has already said he won’t run for Senate if he decides to run for president – and Florida law doesn't allow running for two offices at once anyway.

Senator Portman actually could run for both, but he says he won’t.

“At this point, I’m planning to run for Senate in Ohio,” Portman told RealClearPolitics in August. “Your next question is going to be, ‘Can’t you do both?’ And the answer is, ‘Yes,’ but I wouldn’t. I think you need to focus.”

http://news.yahoo.com/rand-paul-bind...120001266.html

16 Republicans who might run next time (+video)

The Republican Party has a history of nominating people who have run before, which could give heart to some familiar faces. But there’s also a crop of first-timers with evident ambition, including the in-your-face governor of New Jersey and a libertarian-leaning senator from Kentucky.

Here's the latest lineup, with updates through Oct. 9, 2014.

By Linda Feldmann, Staff writer JANUARY 14, 2013

1. Chris Christie

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[Updated July 15, 2014] When the Bridge-gate scandal broke in late 2013, Governor Christie’s star was badly tarnished. Suddenly, the charismatic, blunt-talking governor of New Jersey was tagged a “bully,” after his office was linked to a massive traffic jam leading to the George Washington Bridge. Political retribution was allegedly behind the tie-up.

Investigations and testimony are ongoing. Christie still has not been personally implicated in the scandal, though numerous political allies and staff have resigned or been fired. And so Christie has entered a kind of “new normal”: chairman of the Republican Governors Association, traveling the country on behalf of GOP gubernatorial candidates, but with a cloud of scandal over his head.

Conservative groups hammer him for being too moderate. He has failed to bring conservatives onto the state Supreme Court, they say.

Christie argues there’s only so much he can do with the Democratic legislature. His embrace of President Obama after superstorm Sandy, right before the 2012 election, also hurts Christie among conservatives. But his landslide reelection in 2013 – in which he won a majority of the women’s vote, half of the Latino vote, and a third of Democratic votes – showed how he could be a strong contender in 2016 among general election voters.

In July 2014, analysts still rank Christie as a top-tier candidate in a Republican field with no leader. But it’s not clear that he has broad enough appeal within his party nationally to win the nomination.

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2. Rand Paul

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http://assets.newsinc.com/wbko_75X27...g?t=1357360560Sen. Paul Wants to Decrease Entitlements

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The junior senator from Kentucky, Rand Paul is the heir to his father’s political franchise. And now that Ron Paul, former congressman from Texas and three-time presidential candidate, has retired from politics, Senator Paul has quickly filled in the void.

Among Republican voters, Paul is tied with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 15.3 percent for the lead in the prospective Republican field, RealClearPolitics.com reports on Nov. 12, 2013. He has emerged as a leading voice for libertarianism within the Republican Party, conducting a headline-grabbing filibuster against drones and floating the idea of a US Supreme Court challenge to government surveillance of phone records. Paul is also a tea party favorite.

But in late October, Paul hit a serious bump over charges of plagiarism in his speeches and other writings. He has admitted “mistakes” and promised to use footnotes, but his defiant response has raised questions about his ability to withstand the pressure cooker of a presidential campaign and the presidency itself.

Before the plagiarism flap, Paul was a hard-charger for his point of view. He went after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on foreign policy, arguing a more isolationist approach. Paul also defends the October government shutdown, which aimed to derail implementation of Obamacare.

At times, Paul plays nice with the Republican establishment. He is supporting the senior senator from Kentucky, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, against a tea party challenge for the Republican nomination for the seat.

In September, Paul said he’s considering a presidential run, and would make up his mind in about a year. Earlier, he laid out what his appeal might look like.

“I’m the kind of candidate, if I were to be a national candidate, that would be someone that says, ‘You know, young people, Republicans, we will protect your privacy, we do care about the Internet, we do want to promote a less aggressive foreign policy – a strong national defense, but a less aggressive foreign policy,' ” Paul said July 31 on New Hampshire radio station WGIR-AM.

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3. Mitt Romney

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http://assets.newsinc.com/bloomberg_...g?t=1412627760Romney's Refrain on Obama: 'He Wasn't Right'

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After two failed presidential bids, the 2012 Republican nominee insisted he was done with politics for good. But his resolve appears to be softening. President Obama has struggled in his second term, and Mitt Romney is feeling vindicated.

There’s “no question” that he’d be a better president than both Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, Romney told Fox News Sunday on Sept. 7. Then he made his case, as if he were a candidate again.

“You've got to get this economy going,” said Mr. Romney, a wealthy businessman before going into politics. “You have to have people who understand what it takes to create jobs and to help people come out of poverty, to help the middle class to have a better and prosperous future.”

Romney served one term as governor of Massachusetts, before launching his 2008 presidential bid. He lost the GOP nomination to Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

In 2012 Romney tried again and won the nomination, but lost the election to Obama, 51 percent to 47 percent. Since then, he has remained a political player. He appears frequently on TV, issues endorsements, and travels the country campaigning for Republicans.

Were Romney to run again, he’d be on the older end of the spectrum – as would Mrs. Clinton – but he’s healthy and fit.

When asked point blank in September whether he might run again, he told The New York Times magazine: "We'll see what happens.”

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4. Paul Ryan

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Paul Ryan didn’t win the vice presidency in 2012, and the thinking now is that his role as Mitt Romney's former sidekick is both a plus and a minus if he runs in 2016.

Inside the Beltway, Congressman Ryan – chairman of the House Budget Committee – had long been seen as a rising star, best known for his mastery of budgetary and fiscal matters. Now he has a national profile upon which to build. But his image is more that of an establishment figure willing to compromise rather than a conservative maverick.

Ryan says he will decide on a possible presidential run in 2015. But if Romney runs, he won’t.

If Ryan does run, he would bring to the table national campaign experience and a sunny youthfulness. By 2016, being a member of Generation X won’t be a negative. He will be about the same age Barack Obama and Bill Clinton were when they were elected president.

One question is whether Ryan can make the leap directly from the House to the presidency. Plenty of sitting House members have run for president, but only one has succeeded (James Garfield). If Ryan plans to run, he will have to work to maintain his national profile while playing a key role in the House.

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5. Ted Cruz

http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_...rd_540x360.jpgJ. Scott Applewhite/AP/FileView Caption

The junior senator from Texas, elected just last November, hasn’t wasted any time making a name for himself as a top tea party politician. Senator Cruz wants to rewrite the tax code, abolish the Internal Revenue Service, and get rid of the Affordable Care Act. In September, he delivered an epic 21-hour speech from the Senate floor making the case for defunding Obamacare. He was also a leading advocate for the hard-line demands that led to a 16-day government shutdown in October.

Cruz has not said he’s running for president, but he’s been visiting early-primary states and winning straw polls at conservative political gatherings. This son of a Cuban immigrant father is also quick to defend his eligibility for the presidency, despite his Canadian birth.

“My mother was born in Wilmington, Del. She’s a US citizen, so I’m a US citizen by birth,” Cruz said July 21 on ABC-TV. “I’m not going to engage in a legal debate.”

In August, Cruz announced he was renouncing any claim to Canadian citizenship.

Cruz brings an Ivy League résumé to the table, with degrees from Princeton University and Harvard Law School. He clerked at the US Supreme Court, and later argued cases before the high court as solicitor general of Texas.

Only in his early 40s, Cruz can certainly wait and garner more experience in politics before going for gold. (His Senate victory was his first run for office.) But he looks eager to go for 2016.

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6. Marco Rubio

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http://assets.newsinc.com/who1_75x27...g?t=1353337260Rubio in Iowa

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Young and charismatic, Marco Rubio burst onto the national scene in 2010 when he defeated then-Republican Gov. Charlie Crist to become the junior senator from Florida. Dubbed by some the GOP’s Barack Obama, Senator Rubio has managed his image carefully, delivering serious policy addresses and initially playing down any designs on higher office.

In another echo of Mr. Obama, he delivered perhaps the best-received speech of the 2012 Republican National Convention. After the election, Rubio could be less coy. He went to Iowa to speak at a fundraiser for the governor.

More recently, Rubio was instrumental in getting the Florida legislature to push back the state’s presidential primary, a move that played well in Iowa.

Rubio was a leader in the Senate in passing comprehensive immigration reform. Latinos welcomed his calls for compassion, but Rubio’s standing among conservatives fell. In late October 2013, Rubio backed away from comprehensive immigration reform and recommended that Congress make piecemeal changes. He also joined tea partyers in the Senate in supporting a government shutdown as a way to force defunding of Obamacare. Polls now show Rubio in the middle of the GOP nomination pack.

Rubio is the son of Cuban immigrants, and could help the GOP recover from Mitt Romney’s poor showing among Latinos (though not all Latinos feel warmly toward Cuban-Americans, who have special immigration status). Still, pride among Latinos that one of their own could become president might override reservations.

As a Floridian, Rubio would be positioned to win his state’s crucial primary. And if he won the nomination, he would have an excellent shot at winning the nation’s biggest battleground state.

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7. Scott Walker

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Ever since first-term Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker survived a recall election in June 2012, Republicans have treated him like a rock star – and have talked up his national potential. Governor Walker himself insists he does not have designs on 2016 and is focused on running his state. But that’s a typical comment for a governor who is running for reelection before the next presidential race starts.

Walker ignited a firestorm in early 2011 – including massive protests at the state Capitol – when he proposed limits on most collective bargaining rights for unionized public workers. The Republican-run legislature passed the bill, fueling the drive for the recall vote. But Walker won, 53 percent to 46 percent, becoming the first US governor to survive a recall.

Walker is now gearing up for his 2014 reelection race, and, if successful, he can then contemplate higher office. In a recent interview with the Wisconsin State Journal, Walker promised that the next two years will be calmer than his first two in office and pledged to focus on the state budget and job creation.

In July, Walker signed into law new restrictions on abortion that could close two of the state’s four clinics. The move was popular among conservatives but could be used against him among general election voters.

One possible hitch in any presidential plan would be if fellow Wisconsinite Paul Ryan decides to run. The two are good friends and political allies.

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8. Jeb Bush

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[Updated Feb. 3, 2014] In a way, Jeb Bush is the Hillary Rodham Clinton of the Republican Party: If he decides to run for president, he could discourage others from getting in – including fellow Floridian Marco Rubio.

As a successful two-term governor of the Sunshine State, Mr. Bush is a respected conservative with an intellectual streak and has the deep political and fundraising connections that come from being a Bush. But his family name cuts two ways. While his father’s presidency is now remembered with fondness, his brother’s is not. And it may be that the nation still won’t be ready to consider another Bush presidential campaign by 2016.

But Bush is not ruling out a campaign and, in fact, seems open to the idea.

“I’m deferring the decision to the right time, which is later this year, and the decision will be based on, can I do it joyfully, because I think we need to have candidates lift our spirits,” Bush said Jan. 29 in a TV interview while visiting a charter school in Hialeah, Fla. “It’s a pretty pessimistic country right now; and, is it right for my family? So I don’t even want to think about that till it’s the right time and that’s later on.”

Bush also chided his mother, former first lady Barbara Bush, for saying last year that “we’ve had enough Bushes” in the White House.

“She promised me she wouldn’t keep saying this,” Bush said. “But she is 89 years old and if you have elderly parents or grandparents, you know they speak their mind. There is not much stopping between thinking and speaking. I love her.”

Some of Bush’s policy positions could prove challenging among conservative primary voters, even if they are assets in the general election. Chief among them is his support for comprehensive immigration reform. His immigration stance, plus his fluency in Spanish and his Mexican-born wife, gives him entré into the Latino community, the large and fast-growing voting bloc that went overwhelmingly for Obama in November 2012. More appealing to conservatives may be Bush’s advocacy, through his education think tank, for school choice and tougher testing standards.

As a governor, Bush may be best remembered for his effective emergency management during the hurricanes of 2004 and '05. A negative memory that could come back if Bush runs is the march on Tallahassee by tens of thousands of protesters in 2000, sparked by his “One Florida” initiative to do away with affirmative action in admissions to state universities.

Ultimately, there’s a strong possibility Bush won’t run, because of his family. One of his sons, George P. Bush, is launching his own political career in Texas, but other immediate family members may be less enamored of the intense scrutiny that comes with a national political run.

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9. John Kasich

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[Updated Feb. 10, 2014.] Governor Kasich of Ohio has dropped nary a hint that he might want to run for president again – he ran briefly in 2000 – but if he wins reelection this November, watch the buzz begin. If reelected, he will be a two-term governor of the ultimate bellwether battleground state, and his economic record, so far, may be good enough to run on. Ohio unemployment is still somewhat above the national rate, but well below the 10.6 percent it reached in 2009.

Kasich also brings 18 years of experience as a member of Congress to the table – from 1983 to 2001, including six years as chairman of the House Budget Committee. To Republican voters looking for an “outsider,” Kasich clearly won’t fit the bill. But to the establishment wing of the Republican Party, Kasich could be a strong contender, along with Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, if New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie implodes.

"The presidential nominee is likely to be a governor, and, frankly, Kasich is as well situated as anybody. This is a guy who can connect with a crowd, he can emote, he's got blue-collar roots, and he identifies with average folks. He's certainly no [Mitt] Romney," former House Republican campaign chairman Tom Davis, who served in Congress with Kasich, told National Journal. "In my opinion, he's the total package. And I think he's interested."

Kasich raised the ire of conservatives when he opted to expand Medicaid in his state under the Affordable Care Act, and did an end-run around the state’s Republican-controlled legislature to do so. The move could hurt him in the primary. Some 275,000 Ohioans are now eligible for government-funded health insurance.

Kasich used to host a weekly show on Fox News, called “Heartland with John Kasich,” which ended in 2007. Clips from the show could provide fodder for Kasich opponents, a challenge for someone who isn’t well known nationally. Political scientist Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, also lists an “abrasive personality” in the negative column for Kasich.

In addition, reelection is not certain for Kasich, at least in the eyes of two nonpartisan political handicappers. The Cook Political Report lists his race as “lean Republican.” The Rothenberg Political Report calls it a “toss-up/tilt Republican.”

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10. Bobby Jindal

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One of the “boy wonders” of the Republican Party, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is finally getting to an age (early 40s) where he can credibly ponder a presidential run. Now in his second term as governor, he is due to leave office early in 2016, perfect timing if he does decide to run.

So far, Governor Jindal is playing it coy. In a Politico interview in November 2012, he said he had “the best job in the world” and was focused on that and on being chairman of the Republican Governors Association (a position that gave him a platform from which to prepare for a presidential campaign). Now he’s handing over the RGA reins to New Jersey's Chris Christie.

Since completing a Rhodes scholarship after college, Jindal has been in public service or running for office nearly nonstop: In addition to governor, he has been a member of Congress, assistant secretary in the US Department of Health and Human Services, president of Louisiana’s state university system, and secretary of the state Department of Health and Hospitals.

The son of Indian immigrants, Jindal would add diversity to a GOP field that may also include two Cuban-Americans, Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas. But Jindal is mindful of not chopping up the American electorate into ethnic or economic segments, saying he prefers to reach out to all Americans.

Perhaps the biggest smudge on Jindal’s political résumé is his awkward appearance on national television in 2009, when he delivered the Republican reply to President Obama’s speech to a joint session of Congress. Time has softened the memory, but doubts linger over whether he can go up against some of the party’s more charismatic figures.

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11. Rob Portman

http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_...rd_540x360.jpgMark Duncan/APView Caption

The first-term senator from Ohio has a golden resume: House member, budget director and US trade representative for President George W. Bush, and now senator. Mitt Romney had Senator Portman on his short list for running mate in 2012. Since 2000, he’s been the GOP’s “go-to guy” for playing Democrats in debate prep.

Portman is considered an intellectual leader on Capitol Hill, and an old-style dealmaker. That may put him out of step with some of the conservative flamethrowers in his party, but after years of hyperpartisanship in Washington, Portman’s willingness to work across the aisle could be an asset.

Portman has a gay son, and supports same-sex marriage – a position that boosts his profile as a centrist in a party that is increasingly seen as out of step with shifting public sentiment on the issue.

The fact that he’s from Ohio – a bellwether state in presidential elections – could be a plus. On the downside, he’s short on charisma.
At a Christian Science Monitor breakfast on Sept. 11, 2014, Portman was asked about 2016. “I’ll take a look at it after the [2014] election,” he said.

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12. Rick Santorum

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Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania was the final challenger to Romney in the 2012 primaries (except for libertarian niche candidate,Rep. Ron Paul of Texas). And given that GOP runners-up often try again, chances are strong that Mr. Santorum will be back in 2016. In post-election interviews, he has said as much.

"I'm open to looking into the presidential race in 2016," Santorum said Aug. 4 on "Meet The Press."

In 2012, Santorum provided an alternative to conservatives who weren’t sure that Romney was really one of them – especially evangelical Christians who liked Santorum’s conservative Catholic faith and emphasis on social issues. Still, it may be hard for Santorum to grow his base of support in a second presidential run. But running again also may have little downside for Santorum, as it gets him back in the news and on the debate stage, thus refreshing his marketability and public image.

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13. Jon Huntsman

http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_...rd_540x360.jpgDavid Goldman/AP/FileView Caption

In the 2012 cycle, Jon Huntsman occupied a strange space. He was the Republican candidate the Obama campaign said it feared the most, but he got no traction in the primaries and dropped out early.

On paper, Mr. Huntsman looked like a top-tier candidate: former governor of Utah, former US ambassador to China, a well-spoken moderate who could attract swing voters. But after the tea party wave of 2010, moderation was not in vogue for Republicans in 2012.

Maybe 2016 will be different. And Huntsman may be positioning himself for another try. He established a political action committee in May, called the Red Rock PAC, which is aimed at electing like-minded Republicans across the country. He’s also co-chair of the nonpartisan group No Labels, which encourages political problem-solving.

Huntsman says he’s undecided about 2016, but clearly his PAC is a vehicle for fundraising, networking, and giving speeches. No Labels could give him another base of support.

“It’s way early,” Huntsman told Politico about the 2016 race. “For this year and next year, it will be more about talking about the issues that really matter, presenting them to people who are interested in hearing about them, and kind of seeing where they go.”

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14. Peter King

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Peter King is a member of the House, and so by definition a longshot for the presidency. But this 11-term congressman from New York has already announced that he’s running.

In September, he told a radio station in New Hampshire that he was visiting the state – home of the first primary – “because right now I'm running for president.”

His stated goal is to fight growing isolationism in the Republican Party, and to reassert the GOP’s traditional reputation for active engagement in the world.

"We have to go back to being the party of national defense,” Congressman King said Aug. 5 at a backyard barbecue in New Hampshire, according to the Associated Press.

King, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said he intends to win, “but certainly, it's added incentive to prevent the isolationist wing of the party from taking over. Someone like Rand Paul has set the Republican Party back 50 years."

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15. Mike Huckabee

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[Updated Sept. 8 8 p.m. EDT] The former governor of Arkansas and 2008 presidential candidate seems perfectly content to be a well-compensated talk-show host on Fox News and party celebrity. Mr. Huckabee opted out of the 2012 race, noting he’s a weak fundraiser and not prepared to risk poverty with another run.

But the winner of the Iowa caucuses in 2008 is not ruling out a run in 2016.

“Am I informally chatting with people, asking if they think there’s any value in my taking it to another level? I’m having those conversations,” Huckabee told Politico on Sept. 5.

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16. Rick Perry

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In Texas, four-term Gov. Rick Perry – the longest-serving chief executive in state history – seems a near-permanent fixture. But on the national stage, not so much. During his 2012 presidential campaign, Governor Perry turned in one of the all-time most embarrassing debate performances when he could not remember which three federal agencies he would shut down. His poll ratings plummeted; he dropped out of the race soon after the primaries began.

But he is on this list because he has said he might run again. Some Perry supporters are promoting the idea and suggest his problems from last time are fixable. In 2011, they point out, he was on medication after back surgery (which may have contributed to a particularly loopy campaign appearance), and he entered the race late. If he were to run again, he would presumably get in early and be off pain meds.

In July, Perry announced he would not seek reelection in 2014 and left open the possibility of another White House bid. He said “any future considerations” will arrive “in due time.” He has also rehired his former presidential campaign communications director, Mark Miner.

Last December, he dropped another big hint in remarks to a Texas tea party group, speaking of his 2012 campaign: "It was an extraordinary experience – I mean, one that I wouldn't trade. And looking back on it ... I would do it again."

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http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Electio...deo/Rick-Perry

Ben Carson officially switches parties, returns to GOP