Indep. Efforts For/Against Potential 2016 Pres. Candidates, 2013

In this early, pre-campaign stage, independent efforts in support of or against potential presidential candidates have been fairly limited.  On the Republican side, the National Draft Ben Carson for President Committee (www.runbenrun.org) appears most well organized.  The group seeks to "create an unmatched, technology driven, nationwide grassroots organization that will lay the groundwork for winning both the Republican nomination and the White House in 2016.”  The committee claimed $1 million raised as of Dec. 3, 2013, it is organizing state-by-state through Facebook groups, and its supporters have done several on the ground events including a booth at Iowa GOP’s Reagan Dinner on Oct. 25.  The Committee to Draft Judge Andrew Napolitano for President has 157,384 Facebook likes.  The Human Action super PAC garnered a bit of buzz by distributing free Rand Paul 2016 bumper stickers starting in June.  On the Democratic side, pro- and anti-Hillary Clinton activity dominates.  The Ready for Hillary super PAC is the best organized of any of these independent efforts, reporting more than $1.25 million raised by July 2013 and approaching 30,000 donors at year's end; it has more than a dozen staff (>).  At the same time, three stop-Hillary websites were noted, reminding us that Clinton has been a polarizing figure.