Friday, June 12, 2015

Is Marco Rubio in the Republican Lead?

Krauthammer handicaps the Republican presidential race like this:

35%  Marco Rubio
25%  Jeb Bush
25%  Scott Walker
5%  Ted Cruz
3%  John Kasich
2%  Carly Fiorina

Watching Jeb Bush and Scott Walker campaign, I'm also starting to think that Marco Rubio is the favorite. Ideologically I prefer him to Walker, but I find his slickness maddening. When he talks, people say he is "impressive," but he never says anything beyond generic Republican talking points. The only issue on which he ever deviated from the platform was immigration, and he has completely repudiated his old plan. So, another handsome empty suit. Sigh.

I was interested to see that Krauthammer, like me, thinks Ted Cruz is worth watching. Cruz is a sort of experiment in political science: can a candidate despised by the party elite make a serious run? The political scientists say no, but I wonder if maybe many Republican voters are in the mood to stick their thumbs in the establishment's eye.

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