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Former
Gov.
Jeb
Bush
(FL)
- In March former Gov. Bush made a splash
with Immigration Wars: Forging an
American Solution (Threshold
Editions), which he co-authored with Clint Bolick. The book
presents a six-point strategy to achieve immigration reform; it does
not go so far as advocating citizenship for those who arrived in the
country illegally. On March 15, Bush delivered the keynote
address at CPAC's Ronald Reagan Dinner, outlining for the conservative
audience how to get the Republican party "in the front
again." He did not make much news during the rest of
2013, however. Bush said several times during the year that he is
defering
consideration of a possible 2016 bid until the proper time. He
could likely count on some establishment support, but some activists
view him as a moderate and the prospect of a third Bush in the White
House might be too much for others. His mother Barbara Bush said
on NBC's Today show in April
that, "He's by far the best qualified
man." She then added, "There are other people out there that are
very qualified and we've had enough Bushes.” Bush, who finished
his two terms as governor in Jan. 2007, is founder
and chairman of the board of the Foundation for Excellence in Education
(ExcelinEd), a 501(c)(3) which seeks
"to build an American education
system that equips every child to achieve his or her God-given
potential." |
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Dr.
Ben
Carson
- Since retiring in June 2013 after a distinguished
40-year medical career, Dr. Carson has kept busy with the work of the Carson Scholars Fund, an
organization which he co-founded in 1994 and which has granted over
5,700 scholarships for "superior academic performance and demonstration
of humanitarian qualities." In addition to many speaking
engagements (he is represented by the Washington Speakers Bureau),
Carson writes a weekly column and serves as a FOX News
contributor.
He is the author of five books, most recently America the Beautiful (Zondervan, Jan. 2012),
and
he
is working on another, One Nation, scheduled for release May
2014. Carson's inspirational life story - he grew up in poverty
in a single parent home in Detroit and did poorly in school, yet rose
to become a neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins - was even the subject of a
2009 movie starring Cuba Gooding, Jr., "Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson
Story," which aired on TNT. As the Dr. Ben Carson for President
facebook page says, "His life is a great example of the American
Dream." More recently, Carson has drawn attention for speaking
his mind. At the President’s National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 7,
2013, Carson "took on the PC world" and took the opportunity to address
some of the problems facing the country, even advocating health savings
accounts as President Obama sat a few feet away. The Atlantic magazine described him
as "the New Conservative Folk Hero." Carson has given a number of
political speeches, including at CPAC in March. In his speech at
the Values Voter Summit in October he drew attention for declaring,
"Obamacare is really, I think, the worst thing to happen to the nation
since slavery." Supporters have tried to persuade Carson to seek
elective office, including a petition to draft him to run for U.S.
Senate in his home state of Michigan. In August the National
Draft Ben Carson for President Committee, directed by Vernon Robinson,
formed. The super PAC aims to convince Carson to run for
president and is working to build a grassroots organization that can
take him to the White House. On Dec. 3 the committee announced it
had raised more than $1 million. Carson has responded to such
initiatives stating that "...as of today it is not my intention to seek
public office. Instead I will
continue to strive very hard to not only expose what is happening in
our nation, but also to suggest ways to regain a direction that will
lead our nation towards freedom and justice for all."
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Gov.
Chris
Christie
(NJ) - One of the biggest challenges facing New
Jersey is recovery from Superstorm Sandy, which struck with devasting
force on Oct. 29, 2012. The recovery effort has been a major
focus for Christie; indeed he describes it as his mission.
"[T]hat mission is to make sure that everyone, everyone in New Jersey
who's affected by Sandy is returned to normalcy in their life,"
Christie declared in his re-election victory speech on Nov. 5,
2013. "And I want to promise you tonight, I will not let anyone,
anything, any political party, any governmental entity or any force get
in between me and the completion of my mission." according to a
fact sheet from the governor's office, in the year since Sandy, New
Jersey has received more than $5.67 billion in total federal assistance
for recovery. Recall that back on Oct. 31, 2012, when President
Obama arrived at Atlantic City Airport to tour Sandy damage, Christie
gave Obama a warm greeting and handshake. This was six days
before Election Day, and although Christie had been an active surrogate
for Romney, some conservatives believe the "tarmac moment," may have
helped Obama defeat the Republican nominee. Conservatives have
some other gripes with Christie. He was not invited to address
the 40th annual CPAC held March
14-16; according to one news account his positions on guns did not sit
well with the conference organizers. He also fell afoul of social
conservatives on Oct. 21 when he dropped the state's appeal to the New
Jersey Supreme Court on the issue of gay marriage. The Family
Research
Council issued a statement which concluded, "...Combined with his
signing of a radical bill to outlaw even voluntary
sexual orientation change efforts with minors, today's action has given
conservatives serious pause about Gov. Christie's reliability."
The release of the 2012 campaign book Double
Down at the beginning of November, generated some news;
according to the account a generally unfavorable view of Christie as a
possible running mate emerged in the Romney campaign's vetting.
Those who know him best approve of the job Christie is doing. On
Nov. 5 he was resoundingly re-elected to a second term. Although
Democrats enjoy a voter registration advantage of more than 700,000 in
New Jersey (Democrats have 33.1-percent, Republicans 19.8-percent and
unaffiliated 47.0 percent), Christie defeated state Sen. Barbara Buono
by 60.4-percent to 38.1-percent, carrying all but two of the state's 21
counties. According to CNN exit poll results, he carried
51-percent of the Latino vote. In his victory speech (>)
Christie declared, "I did not seek a second term to do small things, I
sought a second term to finish the job. Now watch me do
it." Touting his success he said that "maybe the folks in
Washington, DC should tune in their TVs right now to
see how it’s done." The resounding win established Christie as
something of a frontrunner among the 2016 GOP presidential
prospects. A Ready for Christie PAC launched "to encourage and
rally support for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to run for
President in 2016." Further, on Nov. 21 Christie became chairman
of the
Republican
Governors Association, a key position for 2014 when gubernatorial
elections will be held in 36 states. Christie is also sporting a
leaner look. In February, he secretly underwent
lap band surgery to address his obesity; this was not know publicly
until reported on May 7. However, 2013 ended on a controversial
note for Christie as "Bridgegate" unfolded over several weeks in late
December. During his re-election campaign, at least 60 Democratic
elected officials had endorsed Christie, but Fort Lee's Democratic
Mayor Mark Sokolich was not one of those officials. In September,
Christie appointees at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
ordered lane closures on the George Washington Bridge for a mysterious
traffic study, leading to four days of traffic gridlock in Fort
Lee. Christie's critics see this as an example of "petty bullying
tactics," but whether this is a scandal or a tempest in a teapot must
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Sen.
Ted
Cruz
(TX)
- Sen. Cruz's Facebook page describes him as a
"passionate fighter for limited government, economic growth, and the
Constitution." He has also been called a "wacko bird" (by Sen.
John McCain, who later apologized), a "right-wing nut job" (by former
Gov. Howard Dean) and a "Texas hothead" (by the Washington Post's Dana Milbank) and
portrayed as the Mad Hatter (on the cover of the Oct. 13 issue of Bloomberg Businessweek.
Editorial cartoonists have had a field day caricaturing the now 43-year
old Senator from Houston. One
year into his first term, Cruz
has made a mark as a Tea Party idealogue with a confrontational
style. In March he delivered the keynote address at the 40th
annual CPAC (>).
Target
number
one
for
Cruz
is
the
Affordable
Care
Act;
he
has
been
one
of
the
fiercest
critics
of
Obamacare
and
has
pushed
relentlessly
for
full
repeal
of
the
law. On Sept. 24-25 he spoke
for 21 hours and 19 minutes on the Senate floor, a talkathon,
technically not a fillibuster, in opposition to Obamacare that included
a reading of Dr. Suess' Green Eggs
and
Ham. He was one of the leaders in the strategy to
defund Obamacare as a condition for funding the government (the
continuing resolution), which led to the 16-day government shutdown
starting on Oct. 1. Finally, on the evening of Oct. 16, hours
before the U.S. government reached its debt limit, the Senate achieved
a deal, the House approved it, and after midnight President Obama
signed it into law. The shutdown was seen as doing significant
damage to the Republican brand, but Cruz was unapologetic. Around
this time, on Oct. 11, Cruz won the Values Voter Summit
presidential straw poll with 42-percent of the votes. Capping off
the year, in December, the U.S.
Senator "Ted" Cruz to the Future Comic Coloring Activity Book
(Dec. 5, 2013, Really Big Coloring Books®, Inc.) achieved #1 bestseller
status in the Children's Coloring Book category on Amazon; it is, after
all, "approved by teachers and educators." Cruz was also one of
four runners up to Pope Francis as Time
magazine's 2013 Person of the Year. Cruz gives every indication
that he intends to make a presidential bid. In Nov. 2012, a week
after he was elected, he established a leadership PAC, the Jobs, Growth
and Freedom Fund; and in March he established the Cruz Victory
Committee, a joint fundraising committee with his Senate campaign
committee. He has made a few visits to the early primary
states. And, at year's end the story emerged that he is taking
steps to renounce his dual Canadian citizenship.
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Former
Gov.
Mike
Huckabee
(AR/FL)
- On Nov. 27 Huckabee announced he would end his
nationally syndicated radio
show, stating "...the contract was at a decision point for both Cumulus
Media and me,
and we mutually agreed to conclude." "The Mike
Huckabee Show," which started in
April 2012 and was broadcast on over 200 stations in 44
states, ran through Dec. 12. Days later Huckabee announced that
in Jan. 2014 he will launch the "Huckabee Post" web site in partnership
with Christian Media Corp.. Huckabee continues to host "Huckabee"
which airs on FOX News on Saturday and Sunday evening. He
continues to promote his various books including the paperback reprint
edition of his most recent book Dear Chandler, Dear Scarlett: A
Grandfather's Thoughts on Faith, Family, and the Things That Matter Most
(Sentinel,
Nov.
2012)
which
came
out
in
Oct.
2013.
Huck
PAC, which Huckabee formed in
2008, started endorsing candidates for 2014 in November. Huckabee
has
been a resident of Florida since 2010, and it seems unlikely he
would foresake home at Blue Mountain Beach for the travails of another
presidential campaign. He was not mentioned in presidential speculation
until Dec. 2013. On Dec. 13 he told CBN's "The Brody File"
"there's a new openness" to a 2016 presidential run. In a Dec. 22
appearance on "FOX News Sunday" he stated, "I would say maybe at this
point it is 50-50. I don't know. I don't know that I can put a
percentage on it." |
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Gov.
Bobby
Jindal
(LA) - In January, Gov. Jindal made waves on the
policy front, announcing a bold plan to eliminate the corporate income
tax, the personal income tax and the franchise tax, while expanding and
raising the sales tax to keep the proposal revenue neutral. The
second week of March was a busy time for Jindal. On March 10 he
delivered a very well received speech at the Gridiron Club and
Foundation Dinner in Washington, DC. On March 14 he presented
details of his tax proposal at a joint meeting of the House Ways &
Means Committee and the Senate Revenue & Fiscal Affairs
Committee. On March 15 he addressed CPAC, calling on
conservatives to "reorientate our way of thinking." Back in
Louisiana, Jindal's tax reform proposal proved controversial and
generated significant opposition and on April 8 he announced his
decision to "park" the package. Through 2013 Jindal served a term
as chairman of the Republican Governors
Association, being succeeded by Gov. Chris Christie on
Nov. 21. In October he announced formation of America
Next, a
501(c)(4) based on the premise that "conservatives must be willing to
demonstrate that we have the courage of our convictions by going on the
offense in the war of ideas." |
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Former
Gov.
Jon
Huntsman
(UT) - In an appearance at Saint Anselm College's New
Hampshire Institute of Politics on Nov. 25, former Gov. Huntsman did
not rule out a second bid for the White House. Huntsman has kept
involved in the political arena in several ways. In January, No Labels, "a citizens' movement
of Democrats, Republicans and independents dedicated to a new politics
of problem solving," announced Huntsman and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) as
its chairs. On Oct. 26 he launched a weekly radio show, "No
Labels Radio with Jon Huntsman" on Sirius XM's POTUS channel.
Huntsman drew a bit of attention when he announced his support for gay
marriage. In a Feb. 21 article in The American Conservative he wrote,
"There is nothing conservative about denying other Americans the
ability
to forge that same relationship with the person they love." (>)
In
May
Huntsman
formed
Red Rock PAC,
which
is
"focused
on
electing
reform-oriented
Republicans."
Huntsman
also
served
as
co-chair
of a Commission on the Theft of
Intellectual Property, which issued a report in May. While a Huntsman
2016 campaign seems unlikely, a small group of dedicated supporters on
Facebook continues to advocate for him to run.
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Gov.
John
Kasich
(OH) - Gov. Kasich has not given overt signals that
he is interested in running for president in 2016, such as visiting key
early primary states or setting up a leadership PAC. He first
must get re-elected in Nov. 2014, and that could be a challenge
considering he was elected by just two percentage points (49.04 to
47.04) in 2010. Matt Carle, who served as Kasich's director of
legislative affairs, started as campaign manager in August.
Kasich can point to an array of accomplishments in the first three
years of his administration; at the top of the list is turning a $7.7
billion budget deficit into a surplus, and filling the state's rainy
day fund to a record $1.48 billion. In "A Year in Review" video (>), Kasich
highlights 2013 accomplishments, first of which is, "We cut taxes by
$2.7 billion, more than any other state, by cutting income taxes 10
percent for all Ohioans and by cutting taxes for virtually every small
business in half." Not mentioned, the state sales tax rate
increased from 5.5-percent to 5.75 percent on Sept. 1 and new property
taxes are coming into effect. Kasich also states Ohio is
investing "$1.6 billion in new money in education, the largest increase
in a decade." And he states, "We found an innovative and a
creative way to tackle Ohio's most pressing transportation
needs." (The Ohio Turnpike is to "issue bonds backed by future
toll revenue and use that money to build critical transportation
projects mostly in Northern Ohio.") In a surprising move in
October, Kasich went against Republicans in the General Assembly and
pushed through expansion of Medicaid; the state will accept $2.5
billion provided for by the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Ohio
Democrats have pointed to a various reports indicating that Ohio's
economy is lagging behind the national economy. They have also
been critical of of Kasich's JobsOhio, "a private, nonprofit
organization that promotes job creation and economic development for
Ohio." In the first half of 1999 Kasich waged an exploratory
campaign for the 2000 Republican nomination. Sixteen years later,
there may be another Kasich presidential run, but much will depend on
2014.
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Rep.
Pete
King
(NY) - The ten-term congressman from Long Island
(NY-2) has been a sharp critic of Sen. Ted Cruz and his strategy which
led to the government shutdown. In an Oct. 14 interview on "Piers
Morgan Live," King stated, "[W]e have to go after him...we are not
going to allow Ted Cruz to hijack this party, and bring the country to
the edge of ruin. It's just wrong." King, who is a member
of
the Homeland Security Committee and chairs the Sub-Committee on
Counterterrorism and Intelligence and is as well a member of the
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, has also lambasted Sen.
Rand
Paul for advocating "isolation." King's considerations of a
possible presidential campaign include five visits to New Hampshire
since August. On Dec. 13 he formed a leadership PAC, the American Leadership Now
PAC, to help cover travel expenses and support like-minded
candidates; ABC News described the PAC as an "anti-Tea Party PAC."
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Former
Gov.
Sarah
Palin
(AK) - Former Gov. Palin seems more of a
celebrity than a possible presidential candidate, but she remains a
player on the political scene. Palin has a bit under four million
likes on Facebook and over a million followers on Twitter. In the
2012 cycle Sarah PAC raised
$2.8 million; it spent only a small portion of that in support of
candidates, but Ted Cruz, for example, has highlighted Palin's
support. Sarah PAC could likewise have an impact in 2014; its
website proclaims. "Let's Oust the DC Establishment in 2014."
There are a host of Palin support sites on the web, including a
Palin4President 2016 site. In March, former Gov. Palin delivered
one of the most enthusiatically received speeches at CPAC, loaded with
zingers and highlighted by a "Big Gulp moment" aimed at NYC Mayor
Bloomberg (>),
yet
she
tied
for
ninth
in
their
presidential
straw
poll.
Palin's
third
book
Good Tidings and Great
Joy: Protecting the Heart of Christmas (Harper
Collins) came out on Nov. 12 and she launched it with a
15-city book tour that began in Bethelehem, PA. On the media
front, FOX News' contract with Palin ran through Dec. 31, 2012 and the
network
did not renew it. On Dec. 9 Sportsman Channel announced that
Palin will host a new show "Amazing America with Sarah Palin."
The weekly series, described as "an anthology of stories that explore
some of the most original, interesting – and sometimes inspiring –
people, places and pastimes connected to America’s outdoors lifestyle"
is scheduled to commence in April 2014.
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Sen.
Rand
Paul
(KY) - At 11:47 on March 6, Sen. Paul began what would turn out
to be a 12- hour, 52- minute filibuster of nomination of John Brennan
to be director of the CIA, in an attempt to draw attention to the Obama
administration's obfuscation on the question of whether it viewed drone
strikes on U.S. soil as permissible. Thousands supported the
effort; #standwithrand was a top trending topic on Twitter for
hours.
A week later Paul received an enthusiastic welcome at the 40th CPAC
joking, "Now I was told I've got ten measly minutes, but just in case
I've got thirteen hours of information." In his speech Paul
addressed a topic much on Republicans' minds, how to grow the
party. He stated, "The GOP of old has grown stale and
moss-covered--I
don’t
think
we need to name any names here, do
we? Our party is encumbered by an inconsistent approach to
freedom. The
new GOP will need to embrace liberty in both the economic and personal
sphere." Paul finished first in CPAC straw poll, backed by
25-percent of the 2,930 participants ahead of colleague Sen. Marco
Rubio who finished at 23-percent. A liberty issue that drew
Paul's attention was the revelation that National Security Agency
surveillance is collecting billions of emails and phone calls.
It was this issue that set off the tiff between Paul and Gov. Christie
when, speaking at the Aspen Institute on July 25, Christie warned, "I
just want us to be really cautious because this strain of
libertarianism going through both parties now and making big headlines
I think is a very dangerous thought." Christie went on to refer
to "the widows and the orphans" of 9/11. Paul responded with a
tweet, "Christie worries about the dangers of freedom. I worry
about the danger of losing that freedom. Spying without warrants
is unconstitutional." Paul and Christie exchanged barbs over much
of the rest of the year. Paul advanced the idea of a class action
lawsuit on the NSA surveillance, and for the latter part of 2013 his RAND
PAC (Reinventing a New Direction PAC) website featured a "Stand
With Rand: Join the Class Action Lawsuit" banner, prompting hundreds of
thousands of potential plaintiffs to sign up. At the end of
October a potentially very damaging situation arose for Paul.
MSNBC's Rachel Maddow reported that he appeared to have plagiarized
from Wikipedia in a recent speech. In the week that followed,
news organizations uncovered a number of other examples of plagiarized
passages in Paul's writings and speeches. Paul announced that he
was changing the "approval process" in his office, which he conceded
had been "sloppy," and he accepted responsibility, telling CNN's Wolf
Blitzer, "Ultimately I'm the boss, and things go out under my name, and
so it is my fault." This appear to defuse the problem. On
Dec. 6, in a speech at the Detroit Economic Club, Paul introduced his
proposal for Economic Freedom Zones, under which there would be reduced
taxes and red tape in impoverished areas. (Paul introduced the
bill, S.1852, on Dec. 18, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
as co-sponsor). At the end of that speech a questioner asked,
"What are your plans for running for president in 2016?" Paul
responded, "Where is my cell phone? Can I call my wife?
[inaud.] there's two votes in my family; my wife has both of them and
both of them are no votes right now. So if I'm a very able
politician, I'll tell in a year whether I'm able to persuade my
wife." Of all the potential candidates, Paul has made the most
visits to the early primary states (two visits to Iowa, one to New
Hampshire and four to South Carolina).
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Gov.
Rick
Perry
(TX)
- On July 8 Gov. Perry announced he would not seek
re-election in 2014 (>).
In
prepared
remarks
he
stated,
"Texas
works.
The
jobs
prove
it.
The
revenue
picture
proves
it.
The number
of people moving here proves it. And that hasn't happened by
accident. Texas works because we have less government, less
spending,
fair regulations, and lower taxes." Perry is the longest serving
governor in Texas history, and when he finishes his tenure he will have
led the state for a bit over 14 years. Yet for some Americans
their most lingering impression of Perry comes from his campaign for
the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. The "oops" moment in
the debate in Auburn Hills, MI on Nov. 9, 2011, when he could not
recall the third federal department he was proposing to eliminate,
crippled Perry's candidacy, and, many would argue, his national
prospects. But Perry is showing many signs that he might run
again. Since August, he has sported a new look: wearing
glasses. In September he formed Americans for Economic Freedom,
a
501(c)(4).
In
mid-October,
as
Washington
was
enmeshed
in
the
government
shutdown,
Americans
for
Economic
Freedom
ran
a
campaign-type
ad
touting
the
accomplishments
of conservative governors. In
November Perry made a two-day trip to Iowa and in December he made a
two-day trip to South Carolina.
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Sen.
Marco
Rubio
(FL) - On Jan. 28 a bipartisan group of eight senators
(Republicans Graham, McCain and Rubio; Democrats Bennet, Durbin,
Menendez, and Schumer) working on immigration reform unveiled
"Bipartisan Framework for Comprehensive Immigration Reform." At
that time Sen. Rubio was seen as one of the leading potential
candidates for president in 2016. On Feb. 13 he delivered the
response to President Obama's State of the
Union Address; many recall not what he said but that he paused to take
a sip of water. Also in February, National Journal profiled Rubio as
"The Player" and Time
magazine heralded him as "The Republican Savior." In March he
finished second to Rand Paul in CPAC's straw poll. On April 17
Rubio and his colleagues introduced the Border Security, Economic
Opportunity & Immigration Modernization Act of 2013. S.
744 weighed in at 844 pages. Conservatives did not like this
bill. On his Senate website Rubio had to put up an extensive
myth-busting section to counter some of the misinformation around the
legislation. For example, one of the myths was, "The immigration
bill will give free cell phones to immigrants with work visas."
These were dubbed "amnesty phones" or even "MarcoPhones."
Although the Senate passed the bill, which as amended totalled 1,197
pages, on June 27 on a 68-32 vote, immigration reform did not advance
in the House. Rubio's involvement in the immigration reform bill
cost him severely among conservatives. In the latter part of the
year, Rubio, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the
Select Committee on Intelligence, burnished his foreign policy
credentials. On Nov. 20 he delivered a speech "Restoring
principle: A foreign policy worth of the American dream" at the
American Enterprise Institute. Rubio stated that, "Many other
nations, adversaries and rivals, have been emboldened by our uncertain
foreign policy." He charged that the Obama administration "lacks
a clear strategic foreign policy." In December he made a
three-day visit to London, meeting with government officials and
delivering a major speech on the Transatlantic Alliance. Rubio
does have a PAC, the Reclaim
America
PAC ('electing conservatives to the United States Senate),
but, aside from one appearance in Iowa in Nov. 2012, he has not been
making visits to early presidential primary states.
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Rep.
Paul
Ryan
(WI) - On Dec. 10, 2013, Rep. Ryan, chairman of the House Budget
Committee, and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), chairman of the Senate Budget
Committee, announced they had reached a two-year budget agreement which
would "avoid government shutdown in January, provide certainty to
businesses and families, and return budget process to regular order." (>)
Although
some
conservatives
found
fault
with
the
compromise,
it
passed
both
houses
of
Congress.
Ryan
does
lead
all
potential
2016
candidates
in
Facebook likes at 4.9 million, in large measure the
result of his time as vice presidential nominee. However, he is
seen as more interested in seeking the chairmanship of the House Ways
and Means Committee when that opens up in 2015, than in making a run
for the presidency. He confirmed his interest in the Ways and
Means position in a Dec. 17 interview with the Wall Street Journal. Ryan is
just 43 years old; if 2016 doesn't beckon, he could seek the White
House in a future cycle.
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Former
Sen.
Rick
Santorum
(PA)
- After doing surprisingly well in his 2012 campaign for the
Republican nomination, in which he won Iowa and ten other states,
former Sen. Santorum looks as if he wants to make another run at the
White House. On June 8, 2012 Santorum announced Patriot Voices, a 501(c)(4)
that has continued to serve as his base throughout 2013. There is
also a Patriiot Voices PAC,
which
has
already
made
a
few
endorsements
in
the
2014
cycle.
During
2013,
Santorum
made
a
couple
of
visits
each
to
Iowa and South
Carolina in addition to delivering speeches at venues such as CPAC and
the Values Voter Summit. In June Santorum assumed the position of
CEO of EchoLight Studios, which
describes itself as "America's Fastest Growing Faith & Family Film
Company."
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Gov.
Scott
Walker
(WI)
- Opposition to Gov. Walker's proposals to limit collective
bargaining rights led to dramatic protests in the State Capitol in
Madison in
the first part of 2011, culminating in the June 5, 2012 recall
campaign, which Walker won by a margin of 53.1-percent to
46.3-percent. It was the costliest election in Wisconsin history;
the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign put total spending in the campaign to
recall Walker at $81 million. Walker emerged from the battle as a
hero to conservatives. Speaking at CPAC in March 2013, Walker
summed up his accomplishments: "We came in and took that
deficit, $3.6 billion and today it's nearly a half a billion dollar
surplus. We took a state where taxes had gone up and we not only
lowered the overall tax burden for the first time in years, property
taxes on a median valued home have actually gone in each of the last
two years. And when it comes to jobs, under my predecessor's
term, Wisconsin had lost 133,000 jobs, and back in 2010 a survey of
employers in the state showed that just 10-percent, just 10-percent of
our employers thought we were headed in the right direction. Well
today we're gaining jobs and 93-percent of our employers say Wisconsin
is headed in the right direction." The Wisconsin Democratic Party
has a different view; they charge Walker has violated his 2010 promise
to not raise taxes, and has "raised taxes
on working class families to the tune of $69.3 million - all while
giving a massive $83 million tax cut to his corporate pals."
As 2013 drew to a close Walker administration was
conducting a major review of the state's tax code, considering, among
other ideas, the possiblity of eliminating the state's income
tax. In November, Walker came out with a book,
co-written with Marc Thiessen. Unintimidated:
A
Governor's
Story
and
A
Nation's
Challenge
(Sentinel
HC, Nov. 19, 2013) prompted 2016 speculation. Walker has made
a brief visit to South Carolina and a brief visit to Iowa, but he must
first win re-election in
2014; he is likely to face former Secretary of
Commerce Mary Burke.
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talk:
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Donald
Trump
(NY) - Businessman Donald Trump, president and chairman of
The Trump Organization, spoke at a number of conservative and
Republican events during the year, including the Oakland County (MI)
Lincoln Day Dinner, CPAC, and the Family Leader Conference in
Iowa. On May 27 the New York
Post, citing Michael Cohen, executive vice president and counsel
to Trump, reported that, "Donald Trump has spent more than $1
million on electoral research for a potential presidential run in
2016." In October some state Republicans, looking for a credible
challenger to Gov. Cuomo, started an effort to encourage him to set his
sights on Albany (>).
Trump's
myriad
business
ventures
continue
apace.
In
May,
Trump
announced that NBC had renewed Celebrity
Apprentice for another season. In August New York Attorney
General Eric Schneiderman sued Trump for $40 million over Trump
University. In September the Trumps
announced details of their plans for a $200 redevelopment of the Old
Post Office Building in Washington, DC into a Trump International
Hotel. In the political realm, however, the Donald has been
mentioned as a
potential candidate a bit too many times.
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not
in:
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Gov.
Bob
McDonnell
(VA) - Gov. McDonnell, one of eleven semi-finalists in Romney's
vice presidential search according to Double
Down, had been seen as a likely 2016 presidential candidate into
March 2013 (>).
Then
on
March
30
the
Washington
Post reported on gifts by Star Scientific CEO Jonnie R. Williams
to the McDonnells ("Va. Gov. McDonnell on two -way street with chief
executive of struggling company"). In the succeeding months
detail after detail piled up, and the gifts scandal severly weakened
McDonnell as he finished out his term.
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