CPAC's presidential Straw Poll will have 26 potential candidates to choose from this year.
CPAC to test 26 candidates for president with straw poll
By Seth McLaughlin
The slate of candidates also includes Sens. John Thune of South Dakota, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Tim Scott of South Carolina.
There are a pair former vice presidential nominees from 2008 and 2012 — former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin — and a trio of former presidential candidates who are considering taking another chance at the nation’s top office: former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Nikki Haley of South Carolina, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Susana Martinez of New Mexico are among the 10 governors who made the cut.
Also on the ballot are famed neurosurgeon Ben Carson, New York real estate mogul Donald Trump, and former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, who is fighting federal corruption charges.
Other names likely to be included that come to mind are
Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, and
Marco Rubio.
The RNC wants to have fewer debates in 2016 to winnow down what's shaping up to be an even more crowded field than 2012 had. Many of these Republicans hold virtually identical doctrinaire positions on many of the issues. So the candidates may have a difficult time trying to differentiate themselves among such a crowded field who hold a relatively narrow range of views.
Share who you think will get the nomination and why.