Tonight is the night to see if Trump and Sanders are for real. Make your guess

There's been some suggestions of cheating in the Iowa caucus, but I'm not conversant enough with US electoral law to figure out exactly went on. Can anyone more learned than myself explain why Trump is calling for a re-run of the votes in Iowa, because if there was illegal activity on Cruz or Rubio's part, then that's a pretty serious accusation.....

 

No sooner than posting the last message, CNN has breaking news that Rick Santorum is dropping his 2016 Presidential bid . There apparently will be an announcement, and endorsement, forthcoming this Wednesday evening. Looks like all the remaing candidates will be on one debate stage on February 6. Giddyup.

 

Finally some Republican candidates are dropping out, for many it was the final proof that they didn't stand a chance of winning. It's no surprise that Trump has called Cruz a cheat and a fraud, but it will be hard to prove.

It will be interesting to see with fewer candidates where those will go to now.

 

For most of the Republican candidates, there has not been a vote yet. Iowa is such a strange state that a lot of Republicans don´t even bother going there. McCain didn´t in 2008. Bush, Kasich, Christie totally ignored Iowa, so they are going to see how they do in NH. My guess is Christie drops out after NH.. he is currently in like 6th place with 3 establishment guys above him. Bush will stay in because if his brother campaignes with him, he could win SC.

 

I do wonder why Bush is still bothering, because his chances are remote. Since Trump appeared there has been hardly any press about him. For this job you need to be outspoken, articulate and have the facts. I guess many of the other Republican candidates will decide a cut off point to stay or continue, because it means wasting money and time.

 

Bush is probably too proud to admit that he doesn't stand a chance of getting the nomination but I heard rumors that the GOP establishment will force him out so Rubio can get more support. Don't know if that's true or not but I think since Republicans hate both Trump and Cruz Rubio certainly does stand a better chance of getting the GOP nomination. Whether he can beat Hillary Clinton however is an entirely different matter.

 

Rubio is probably the only Republican that has a decent chance of beating the democrats. Forget about those national ´matchup´ polls you see.. They do not matter at all. what matters more is the electoral map and Rubio can flip Florida and Nevada easily because of the latino votes and will bring a lot of states like Va an OH back into play. Cruz and Trump are going to be starting with Romney´s map and will be on defense just trying to win all the states Romney won last time. Cruz in particular has no chance of winning a single state that Romney didn´t win last time, and will lose a few states that Romney won last time.

Bush won´t quit. He has way too much money. The people who are advising him are also getting monthly checks ,and they are going to want to milk that for as long as possible. Bush could be dead last in NH, and he would still stay in the race until Super Tuesday.

 

I agree, it's embarrassing for Bush to quit as his father and brother are former Presidents, but we could have foreseen that and it was something he had to accept as a huge possibility.

I think some Republicans are waking up to the fact it's who can beat the Democrats now. I can't say Cruz or Trump have impressed with their smear tactics at all, and maybe people do find it unethical.

 

I would like to see New Hampshire be the end of the line for Jeb Bush. He just hasn't resonated with Republican primary voters. His fundraising is slowing down dramatically. He had very little support from the grassroots to begin with. Most of his donations have come from wealthy, business oriented Republicans. That hasn't translated into votes. His organization has spent tons of money to little avail. I think when he finishes behind Kasich, Rubio, Cruz and Trump it will be a wrap for his campaign. He may slog onto to South Carolina, but there will be a lot of pressure for him to get out.