Seth McLaughlin

Nevada could lose early-voter status with messy caucuses in 2016

The Nevada Republican Party's ability to run snag-free caucuses this year could go a long way in deciding whether the state keeps its spot near the front of the nomination calendar in 2020.

January 3, 2016

Donald Trump, 2016 Republican rivals picking fights, alliances to survive

It's the price of success this primary season: As New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie surges in the polls in New Hampshire's Republican presidential primary, he has drawn the attention of front-runner Donald Trump, who has started aiming some well-placed barbs accusing Mr. Christie of being a party turncoat.

December 31, 2015

Jeb Bush beefing up ground forces in early-primary states: Report

Republican presidential contender Jeb Bush is rejiggering his approach to the 2016 presidential race, shifting resources away from television advertising and toward beef up its ground troops in the key early primary states, according to the The Des Moines Register.

December 30, 2015

Republicans applying 2012 lessons to 2016 race

Shrinking the primary season -- beginning it later and ending it earlier -- was one of the more than 200 recommendations for how the party could right itself in the wake of Mitt Romney's loss to President Obama.

December 29, 2015

George Pataki to drop out of race for 2016 Republican nomination

Former New York Gov. George Pataki is dropping out of the 2016 Republican presidential race, according to the Boston Globe.

December 29, 2015

Ted Cruz to blaze through Southern states with eye on March’s ‘SEC Primary’

He tops the polls in Iowa, but rather than sit on his lead Sen. Ted Cruz is running an aggressive presidential campaign targeting a swath of Southern states in what has been dubbed the "SEC Primary."

December 23, 2015

Presidential candidates offer campaign Christmas stocking stuffers

Christmas doesn't usually scream "presidential campaign" -- but a number of 2016 White House hopefuls are eager for Santa to put their hats, sweatshirts and trinkets under your tree this year.

December 23, 2015

Rand Paul flops as Ron Paul’s successor, loses libertarian voters to Donald Trump

Diana Orrock was a loyal foot solider in the Ron Paul revolution in Nevada four years ago, fighting to put the libertarian icon's imprint on the 2012 presidential race, and she had every hope his son, Sen. Rand Paul, would be the natural successor.

December 22, 2015

DNC: Lindsey Graham’s failed bid reflects GOP’s misguided immigration views

The Democratic National Committee pounced on Sen. Lindsey Graham's decision Monday to pull out of the 2016 GOP presidential race, saying it is symbolic of how the GOP has scrapped its Hispanic outreach efforts and plans to support "comprehensive immigration reform."

December 21, 2015

Lindsey Graham drops out of presidential race

Sen. Lindsey Graham is the latest GOP presidential candidate to fall, ending his campaign Monday after he failed to win public support among Republican primary voters for a more hawkish foreign policy abroad and a more liberal approach to global warming and immigration back at home.

December 21, 2015

Donald Trump defends Muslim ban as security dominates Republican debate

Donald Trump defended his call for a halt on Muslim visitors to the U.S., taking credit for having ignited a needed conversation over the roots of terrorism, as he and the rest of the Republican presidential field faced off Tuesday in their final debate of the year with fear of another terrorist attack growing among the electorate.

December 15, 2015

Donald Trump mocks ‘tough guy’ Jeb Bush

GOP presidential contender Donald Trump laughed off the idea Tuesday that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is a "tough guy" in a testy exchange between the rivals in the GOP presidential debate.

December 15, 2015

Rand Paul warns against toppling Syria’s Bashar Assad

GOP presidential contender Rand Paul distanced himself from several of his rivals Tuesday by warning against the United States pushing to militarily topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

December 15, 2015

Carly Fiorina channels Margaret Thatcher: Want to get something done? Ask a woman

Carly Fiorina suggested that she is best equipped to take on the threat of international terrorism and get the job done because she is a woman in the fifth GOP presidential debate of the 2016 campaign that focused on national security and foreign policy.

December 15, 2015

Ted Cruz vs. Marco Rubio becomes key dynamic in race during GOP debate

The GOP presidential field wrestled over the issue of the nation's surveillance programs, with Sens. Ted Cruz defending his opposition to the bulk collection of telephone data under the Patriot Act against charges that his stance left the nation less safe.

December 15, 2015

Lindsey Graham declares ‘I miss George W. Bush’

There are signs that former President George W. Bush has gone from being a political pariah in Republican ranks to once again being part of the in-crowd.

December 15, 2015

Lindsey Graham says Ted Cruz, Rand Paul are ‘isolationists’

GOP presidential contender Lindsey Graham said Tuesday he has been calling for more American combat troops to be sent into the Middle East to destroy the Islamic State before it was the hip thing to do in the GOP presidential race and criticized fellow Sens. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz for not echoing that sentiment.

December 15, 2015

Donald Trump’s rival candidates to debate for other Republican voters

Donald Trump has bulldozed his way atop the Republican presidential race over the past six months, leaving the carcasses of fellow candidates and conventional political wisdom in his wake and confounding the survivors.

December 14, 2015

Ben Carson threatens to bolt from the GOP if party leaders manipulate convention

GOP presidential contender Ben Carson said Friday he would consider bolting from the party if Republican leaders try to steer the party's nomination toward a candidate of their liking in a "brokered" convention.

December 11, 2015

Ted Cruz: Arm Kurds, step up astrikes to destroy Islamic State

Facing criticism over his anti-terror plans, GOP presidential contender Sen. Ted Cruz said Thursday he would wipe out the Islamic State by stepping up airstrikes and arming Kurdish forces to handle the ground work — though he left the door open for U.S. troops.

December 10, 2015