Republican Rankings - June 3, 2007

Well as promised the first set of Campaign Rankings of the Republican field is being published today. And just to keep you from wondering, they will be updated every other week and the day after each debate (so the next update will be after Tuesdays debate and then again on the 16th).
Since all signs lean towards Fred Thompson joining the race we will add him to the rankings until he says otherwise, we have reason to believe that Newt Gingrich will not enter the race and until he makes an announcement or something leads us to believe otherwise we will not be ranking him.

Now for the good stuff...

1. Rudy Giuliani (New York)
Rudy's campaign has no signs of slowing down anytime soon, he has achieved much more in the start of this campaign than any of the other "big three". While he did not raise as much money as Mitt Romney, he still dominates the field among candidates who actually have either an Exploratory Committee or an actual Presidential Campaign. Rudy is also the only current Republican who is shown in national polls as beating both Hilary Clinton and Barak Obama in head to head polls. As with every other campaign the first real test of his campaign real come in the August Straw Poll in Iowa, that is where the results of the debates will really be seen.

2. Fred Thompson (Virginia / Washington DC)[formerly of Tennessee]
Yes, he's already in second and he doesn't even have an Exploratory Committee yet. Last Wednesday he asked to be released from his contract with Law & Order (a Dick Wolf television series on NBC). Thompson is a big threat to everyone below this point. He is a conservative and always has been and has the record to back it up. Take a look at his U.S. Senate record on the issues by clicking here. Although you will never hear them say it Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul, and Sam Brownback who all claim to be the true conservative of the race, are not looking forward to the addition of Fred Thompson. And for that matter neither is Mitt Romeny, Thompson is said to have an unbelievable number potential campaign funders.

3. Mitt Romney (Massachusetts)
Romney's campaign has been pretty silent as of the last week and a half and he is said to be preparing for Tuesdays Republican debate in New Hampshire. His silence though has seemingly brought on a political attack on Romney. Bill Keller, an evangelist from Florida, said "if you vote for Mitt Romney, you are voting for Satan!" in an e-mail newsletter sent to over 2.4 million subscribers. (we will publish more on this story as it develops) The statements have already brought out questions from journalist and political strategist debating rather Romney should openly speak about his faith and just how religious he really is. This could turn in to a big problem for "Team Mitt" if his staff does not handle this in the right way, and they should consider it fair game to come up in Tuesday's debate since Wolf Blitzer will be moderating the event.

4. Mike Huckabee (Arkansas)
Huckabee's campaign has been picking up more speed than Bill Clinton chasing an Intern around the Oval Office! (man, I still can't come up with a line as good as Mike's!) The Edward's joke has really given a boast to his campaign, not that it made him a better candidate, but Republicans across the nation really started to take notice of him since that remark on congress' spending. Huckabee also launched his official national grassroots campaign this week called Team Huckabee which he says will "set [his] campaign apart from the rest". His campaign also smashed a goal set to raise 400 contributions in 96 hours, a plan derived from the John Edwards haircut joke, they brought in 608 contributions in the 4 day span. If Huckabee has another strong debate this Tuesday expect the talk of him moving into the "top tier".

5. John McCain (Arizona)
What happened to John McCain? Eight more years of Washington didn't help the Straight Talk Express. McCain's campaign seems to continue to spiral downward and the Immigration reform bill that he is pushing is the big gorilla on his back in Iowa and everywhere else he goes. While he might not be having as hard a time with his fellow senators in Washington, his fellow candidates in Iowa are making an example of how Washington has changed him and he is not standing up for what he truly believes in. When a candidate like Tom Tancredo gets a leg up on you on an issue of such importance, like he has with immigration it is time to either reconsider backing the bill or reconsider your campaign strategy. If the McCain camp does not fix the problem in the debate the Straight Talk Express will likely run out of gas.

6. Ron Paul (Texas)
While some thought he was through after he did not deny remarks that he thought America's Foreign Policy brought on the September 11th Attacks, Ron Paul has actually seemed to be getting more attention as a CREDIBLE candidate. Last week he appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher and rubbed elbows with Maher, who is the poster boy for everything ANTI-Republican. While some say that any publicity is good publicity, this could come back and bite him in the rear if another candidate will come out and use it against him. Paul seems to have a small, but very loyal base. The problem is his base is not anywhere near the Republican base. And while his supporters will go and vote in online polls and text message votes, a large question is will his young supporters, many of whom are likely not registered to vote, go out and take the time to vote for him in a straw poll, caucus, or primary. If Ron Paul does not do something to please the Republican base he will not stand a chance, no matter how loyal his supporters are.

7. Sam Brownback (Kansas)
Brownback got a bit of a leg up on two of his opponents by explaining his beliefs of evolution, an issue that has been troubling many voters when three candidates (Brownback, Huckabee, and Tancredo) raised their hands after being asked if they did not believe in evolution. The candidates were never given a chance to explain their beliefs in the debate and Brownback is the first to openly come out to the press and explain his beliefs. Brownback also opened his Iowa Headquarters two weeks ago. Other than that his biggest achievement was winning a Straw Poll in Grundy County, Iowa with a whopping population of 12,000 people. Now for those of you like me, who are not familiar with Grundy County, I am told it's close to Waterloo, and for those of you like me who do not know where Waterloo is, I am told it is some where in Iowa. Grundy County is 99% White and that probably explains Brownback's success!

8. Tom Tancredo (Colorado)
Tom Tancredo is a single issue candidate if there ever was one. If you think his picture is silly, you should check out his campaign. Tancredo is the only person I have ever known who can take a question on abortion and give an answer on immigration and have it actually make a little bit of sense. He does have some good ideas that could work for immigration and would definitely be supported by Republican voters, the problem is he doesn't have any descent ideas on any other issue and it has made him look like some what of fool in this race. However he is getting more airtime for immigration and trying to make it into the most important issue we face, which it is not. His campaign will likely be over by Super Tuesday next February, if not sooner.

9. Duncan Hunter (California)
Duncan Hunter is the lowest ligament candidate who has the slightest chance to make a move. His campaign has been pretty poor so far, both figuratively and literally. Two less than mediocre debates and no money or big media coverage has led Duncan Hunter into the ninth spot, behind Tom Tancredo. If he doesn't do something soon to revive his dying campaign, he will not make it into 2008.





10. Jim Gilmore (Virginia)
Jim Gilmore needs to get off the big boys playground and stay in Virginia. His campaign has a very weak strategy. Attack the big name candidates, he has went after "Rudy McRomney" many times, but in the South Carolina debate he was made a fool of when his attacks on Giuliani, Huckabee, and Romney all blew back in his face with the candidates each setting the record straight. And even though he continues to attack the big name candidates he still is not registering in any big polls, national or local. If telling lies about other candidates is all Gilmore can do, he needs to go on back to Virgina and get out of the race.



11. Tommy Thompson (Wisconsin)
Tommy Thompson is running one of the worse campaigns in Presidential history. He has done nothing. NO jabs at the top tier or anyone else for that matter. Absolutely NO media coverage. And NO mention of any plans for change in Washington.
All he does in the debates is relate whatever the question is to the state of Wisconsin. He might have been a good governor in Wisconsin and from what it seems he loves it to death, so my advise to Tommy Thompson is pack it up and go back to Wisconsin and eat some cheese.
His only chance at getting a vote would be if some one mistakes him for Fred Thompson, in which case I guess he might have a chance in Florida.


That's the field as of right now. The Rankings will be updated a day or two after Tuesday's debate in New Hampshire (we may have an interview or two after the debates, and those will take priority over the rankings). As always feel free to leave comments and your thoughts of the Ranking and the candidates.