A whopping 17 people from America's two major political parties are candidates in the 2016 presidential election.
The
field includes two women, an African-American and two Latinos. All but
one in that group – Hillary Clinton – are Republicans.
At
14 candidates, the GOP field is without two early dropouts but still
deeper than ever after one current and one former governor bowed out.
A much smaller group of three Democrats includes a former secretary of state, a former governor and a current senator.
REPUBLICANS IN THE RACE
Jeb Bush Former Florida governor
Age on Election Day: 63
Religion: Catholic
Base: Moderates
Résumé: Former Florida governor and secretary of state. Former co-chair of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.
Education: B.A. University of Texas at Austin.
Family: Married
to Columba Bush (1974), with three adult children. Noelle Bush has made
news with her struggle with drug addiction, and related arrests. George
P. Bush was elected Texas land commissioner in 2014. Jeb's father
George H.W. Bush was the 41st President of the United States, and his
brother George W. Bush was number 43.
Claim to fame: Jeb
was an immensely popular governor with strong economic and jobs
credentials. He is also one of just two GOP candidates who is fluent in
Spanish.
Achilles heel: Bush
has angered conservatives with his permissive positions on illegal
immigration (saying some border-crossing is 'an act of love) and
common-core education standards. His last name could also be a liability
with voters who fear establishing a family dynasty in the White House.
Chris Christie New Jersey governor
Age on Election Day: 54
Religion: Catholic
Base: Establishment-minded conservatives
Résumé: Governor of New Jersey. Former U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. Former Morris County freeholder and lobbyist.
Governor
of New Jersey. Former U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.
Former Morris County freeholder. Former statehouse lobbyist.
Education: B.A. University of Delaware, Newark, J.D. Seton Hall University.
Family: Married to Mary Pat Foster (1986) with four children.
Claim to fame: Pugnacious
and unapologetic, Christie once told a heckler to 'sit down and shut
up' and brings a brash style to everything he does. That includes the
post-9/11 criminal prosecutions of terror suspects that made his
reputation as a hard-charger.
Achilles heel: Christie
is often accused of embracing an ego-driven and needlessly abrasive
style. His administration continues to operate under a 'Bridgegate'
cloud: At least two aides have been indicted in an alleged scheme to
shut down lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge as political
retribution for a mayor who refused to endorse the governor's
re-election.
Carly Fiorina Former tech CEO
Age on Election Day: 62
Religion: Episcopalian
Base: Conservatives
Résumé: Former CEO of Hewett-Packard. Former group president of Lucent Technologies. Former U.S. Senate candidate in California.
Education: B.A.
Stanford University. UCLA School of Law (did not finish). M.B.A.
University of Maryland. M.Sci. Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Family: Married
to Frank Fiorina (1985), with one adult step-daughter and another who
is deceased. She has two step-grandchildren. Divorced from Todd Bartlem
(1977-1984).
Claim to fame: Fiorina
was the first woman to lead a Fortune 20 company, something that could
provide ammunition against the Democratic Party's drive to make Hillary
Clinton the first female president. She is also the only woman in the
2016 GOP field, making her the one Republican who can't be accused of
sexism.
Achilles heel: Fiorina's
unceremonious firing by HP's board has led to questions about her
management and leadership styles. And her only political experience has
been a failed Senate bid in 2010 against Barbara Boxer.
Lindsey Graham South Carolina senator
Age on Election Day: 61
Religion: Southern Baptist
Base: Otherwise moderate war hawks
Résumé: U.S. senator. Retired Air Force Reserves colonel. Former congressman. Former South Carolina state representative.
Education: B.A. University of South Carolina. J.D. University of South Carolina Law School.
Family: Never married. Raised his sister Darline after their parents died while he was a college student and she was 13.
Claim to fame: Graham
is a hawk's hawk, arguing consistently for greater intervention in the
Middle East, once arguing in favor of pre-emptive military strikes
against Iran. His influence was credited for pushing President George W.
Bush to institute the 2007 military 'surge' in Iraq.
Achilles heel: Some
of his critics have taken to call him 'Grahamnesty,' citing his
participating in a 2013 'gang of eight' strategy to approve an
Obama-favored immigration bill. He has also aroused the ire of
conservative Republicans by supporting global warming legislation and
voting for some of the president's judicial nominees.
John Kasich Ohio governor
Age on Election Day: 64
Religion: Anglican
Base: Centrists
Résumé: Governor of Ohio. Former chairman of the U.S. House Budget Committee. Former Ohio congressman. Former Ohio state senator.
Education: B.A. The Ohio State University.
Family: Married to Karen Waldbillig (1997). Divorced from Mary Lee Griffith (1975-1980).
Claim to fame: Kasich
was Ohio youngest-ever member of the state legislature at age 25. He's
known for a compassionate and working-class sensibility that appeals to
both ends of the political spectrum. In the 1990s when Newt Gingrich led
a Republican revolution that took over Congress, Kasich became the
chairman of the House Budget Committee – a position for a wonk's wonk
who understands the nuanced intricacies of how government runs.
Achilles heel: Some
of Kasich's political positions rankle conservatives, including his
choice to expand Ohio's Medicare system under the Obamacare law, and his
support for the much-derided 'Common Core' education standards
program.
Rand Paul Kentucky senator
Age on Election Day: 53
Religion: Presbyterian
Base: Libertarians
Résumé: US senator. Board-certified ophthalmologist. Former congressional campaign manager for his father Ron Paul.
Education: Baylor University (did not finish). M.D. Duke University School of Medicine.
Family: Married
to Kelley Ashby (1990), with three sons. His father is a former Texas
congressman who ran for president three times but never got close to
grabbing the brass ring.
Claim to fame: Paul
embraces positions that are at odds with most in the GOP, including an
anti-interventionist foreign policy, reduced military spending, criminal
drug sentencing reform for African-Americans and strict limits on
government electronic surveillance – including a clampdown on the
National Security Agency.
Achilles heel: Paul's
politics are aligned with those of his father, whom mainstream GOPers
saw as kooky. Both Pauls have advocated for a brand of libertarianism
that forces government to stop domestic surveillance programs and limits
foreign military interventions.
Rick Santorum Former Penn. senator
Age on Election Day: 58
Religion: Catholic
Base: Evangelicals
Résumé: Former
US senator and former member of the House of Representatives from
Pennsylvania. Former lobbyist who represented World Wrestling
Entertainment.
Education: B.A. Penn State University. M.B.A. University of Pittsburgh. J.D. Penn State University Dickinson School of Law.
Family: Married
to Karen Santorum (1990), with seven living children. One baby was
stillborn in 1996. Another, named Isabella, is a special needs child
with a genetic disorder.
Claim to fame: Santorum
won the 2012 Republican Iowa Caucuses by a nose. He won by visiting all
of Iowa's 99 states in a pickup truck belonging to his state campaign
director, a consultant who now worls for Donald Trump.
Achilles heel: As
a young lobbyist, Santorum persuaded the federal government to exempt
pro wrestling from regulations governing the use of anabolic steroids.
And the stridently conservative politician has attracted strong
opposition from gay rights groups. One gay columnist held a contest to
redefine his name, buying the 'santorum.com' domain to advertise the
winning entry – which is too vulgar to print.
REPUBLICAN DROPOUTS
Rick Perry, former Texas governor
(withdrew Sept. 11, 2015)
Scott Walker, Wisconsin governor
(withdrew Sept. 21, 2015)
Bobby Jindal, Louisiana governor
(withdrew Nov. 17, 2015)
Ben Carson Retired Physician
Age on Election Day: 65
Religion: Seventh-day Adventist
Base: Evangelicals
Résumé: Famous
pediatric neurosurgeon, youngest person to head a major Johns Hopkins
Hospital division. Founder of the Carson Scholars Fund, which awards
scholarships to children of good character.
Education: B.A. Yale University. M.D. University of Michigan Medical School.
Family: Married
to Candy Carson (1975), with three adult sons. The Carsons live in
Maryland with Ben's elderly mother Sonya, who was a seminal influence on
his life and development.
Claim to fame: Carson
spoke at a National Prayer Breakfast in 2013, railing against political
correctness and condemned Obamacare – with President Obama sitting just
a few feet away.
Achilles heel: Carson
is inflexibly conservative, opposing gay marriage and once saying gay
attachments formed in prison provided evidence that sexual orientation
is a choice.
Ted Cruz Texas senator
Age on Election Day: 45
Religion: Southern Baptist
Base: Tea partiers
Résumé:U.S.
senator. Former Texas solicitor general. Former U.S. Supreme Court
clerk. Former associate deputy attorney general under President George
W. Bush.
Education: B.A. Princeton University. J.D. Harvard Law School.
Family: Married to Heidi Nelson Cruz (2001), with two young daughters. His father is a preacher and he has two half-sisters.
Claim to fame: Cruz
spoke on the Senate floor for more than 21 hours in September 2013 to
protest the inclusion of funding for Obamacare in a federal budget bill.
(The bill moved forward as written.) He has called for the complete
repeal of the medical insurance overhaul law, and also for a dismantling
of the Internal Revenue Service. Cruz is also outspoken about border
security.
Achilles heel: Cruz's
father Rafael, a Texas preacher, is a tea party firebrand who has said
gay marriage is a government conspiracy and called President Barack
Obama a Marxist who should 'go back to Kenya.' Cruz himself also has a
reputation as a take-no-prisoners Christian evangelical, which might
play well in South Carolina but won't win him points in the other early
primary states and could cost him momentum if he should be the GOP's
presidential nominee.
Jim Gilmore Former Virginia governor
Age on Election Day: 67
Religion: United Methodist
Base: Conservatives
Résumé: Former
governor and attorney general of Virginia. Former chairman of the
Republican National Committee. Former U.S. Army intelligence
agent. President and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation. Board member
of the National Rifle Association
Education: B.A. University of Virginia.
Family: Married to Roxane Gatling Gilmore (1977), with two adult children. Mrs. GIlmore is a survivor of Hodgkin's lymphoma
Claim to fame: Gilmore
presided over Virginia when the 9/11 terrorists struck in 1991, guiding
the state through a difficult economic downturn after one of the
hijacked airliners crashed into the Pentagon. He is nest known in
Virginia for eliminating most of a much-maligned personal property tax
on automobiles, working with a Democratic-controlled state legislature
to get it passed and enacted.
Achilles heel: Gilmore
is the only GOP or Democratic candidate for president who has been the
chairman of his political party, giving him a rap as an 'establishment'
candidate. A social-conservative crusader, he is loathed by the left for
championing the state law that established 24-hour waiting periods for
abortions. Gilmore also has a reputation as an indecisive campaigner,
having dropped out of the 2008 presidential race in July 2007.
Mike Huckabee Former Arkansas governor
Age on Election Day: 61
Religion: Southern Baptist
Base: Evangelicals
Résumé: Former governor and lieutenant governor of Arkansas. Former Fox News Channel host. Ordained minister and author.
Education: B.A. Ouachita Baptist University. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (did not finish).
Family: Married to Janet Huckabee (1974), with three adult children. Mrs. Huckabee is a survivor of spinal cancer.
Claim to fame: 'Huck'
is a political veteran and has run for president before, winning the
Iowa Caucuses in 2008 and finishing second for the GOP nomination behind
John McCain. He's known as an affable Christian and succeeded in
building a huge following on his weekend television program, in which he
frequently sat in on the electric bass with country & western
groups and other 'wholesome' musical entertainers.
Achilles heel: Huckabee
may have a problem with female voters. He complained in 2014 about
Obamacare's mandatory contraception coverage, saying Democrats want
women to 'believe that they are helpless without Uncle Sugar.' He earned
more scorn for hawking herbal supplements in early-2015 infomercials as
a diabetes cure, something he has yet to disavow despite disagreement
from medical experts.
George Pataki Former New York governor
Age on Election Day: 71
Religion: Catholic
Base: Centrists
Résumé: Former governor of New York. Former New York state senator and state assemblyman. Former mayor of Peekskill, NY.
Education: B.A. Yale University. J.D. Columbia Law School.
Family: Married to Libby Rowland (1973), with four adult children.
Claim to fame: Pataki
was just the third Republican governor in New York's history, winning
an improbable victory over three-term incumbent Mario Cuomo in 1994. He
was known for being a rare tax-cutter in Albany and was also the sitting
governor when the 9/11 terror attacks rocked New York CIty in 2001.
Achilles heel: While
Pataki's liberal-leaning social agenda plays well in the Empire State,
it won't win him any fans among the GOP's conservative base. He supports
abortion rights and gay rights, and has advocated strongly in favor of
government intervention to stop global warming, which right-wingers
believe is overblown as a global threat.
Marco Rubio Florida senator
Age on Election Day: 45
Religion: Catholic
Base: Conservatives
Résumé: US senator, former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, former city commissioner of West Miami
Education: B.A. University of Florida. J.D. University of Miami School of Law.
Family: Married
to Jeanette Dousdebes (1998), with two sons and two daughters.
Jeanette is a former Miami Dolphins cheerleader who posed for the
squad’s first swimsuit calendar.
Claim to fame: Rubio's
personal story as the son of Cuban emigres is a powerful narrative, and
helped him win his Senate seat in 2010 against a well-funded governor
whom he initially trailed by 20 points.
Achilles heel: Rubio
was part of a bipartisan 'gang of eight' senators who crafted an
Obama-approved immigration reform bill in 2013 which never became law – a
move that angered conservative Republicans. And he was criticized in
2011 for publicly telling a version of his parents' flight from Cuba
that turned out to appear embellished.
Donald Trump Real estate developer
Age on Election Day: 70
Religion: Presbyterian
Base: Conservatives
Résumé: Chairman
of The Trump Organization. Fixture on the Forbes 400 list of the
world's richest people. Star of 'Celebrity Apprentice.'
Education: B.Sci. Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Family: Married
to Melania Trump (2005). Divorced from Ivana Zelníčková (1977-92) and
Marla Maples(1993–99). Five grown children. Trump's father Fred Trump
amassed a $400 million fortune developing real estate.
Claim to fame: Trump's
niche in the 2016 campaign stems from his celebrity as a reality-show
host and his enormous wealth – more than $10 billion, according to
Trump. Because he can self-fund an entire presidential campaign, he is
seen as less beholden to donors than other candidates. He has grabbed
the attention of reporters and commentators by unapologetically staking
out controversial positions and refusing to budge in the face of
criticism.
Achilles heel: Trump
is a political neophyte who has toyed with running for president and
for governor of New York, but shied away from taking the plunge until
now. His billions also have the potential to alienate large swaths of
the electorate. And his Republican rivals have labeled him an ego-driven
celeb and an electoral sideshow because of his all-over-the-map policy
history – much of which agrees with today's Democrats – and his past
enthusiasm for anti-Obama 'birtherism.'
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