presidential race

But ahead of the debate, the latest The Economist/YouGov poll shows the percentage of Republicans who think Bush could win the general election falling.  

The poll, released Tuesday, shows only 44 percent of Republicans think Bush could win the general election, regardless of who emerges as the Democratic nominee. That's down from 53 percent from just two weeks ago.  

Among those watching the White House race most closely a year from Election Day are those who stand to gain the most from the top-of-the-ticket contest. House and Senate candidates from both parties know their fates are closely tied to the fortunes of their parties’ respective presidential nominees and the tenor of the national conversation next November.  

“Obviously the national environment is something that, to a certain extent, we have very little control over,” NRSC Communications Director Andrea Bozek said. “So our mentality is to prepare for the worst-case scenario.”  

In this campaign that has given an early rise to political outsiders, experts say there could be a place for a presidential candidate to run as an independent for president of the United States.  

The question is whether Jim Webb is that candidate.  

A week after the conservative Club for Growth launched a $1 million ad buy in Iowa slamming Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s conservative credentials, the Republican front-runner fired back Tuesday.  

In a scathing letter, Trump’s general counsel Alan Garten called the 16-year-old conservative organization a “pitiful little group,” said it “shamelessly attempted to extort Mr. Trump to the tune of $1 million” in exchange for its endorsement, and demanded that it remove its two ads from the air. The episode pits the Club for Growth, a group that typically supports candidates who are a thorn in the establishment’s side, against Trump, one of the greatest thorns the Republican Party’s establishment has felt. It’s also placed a politician who has been referred to as a bully – from derogatory comments about women such as Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, entertainer Rosie O’Donnell and Republican presidential opponent Carly Fiorina, to remarks about Republican Sen. John McCain’s heroism in the military – in the position where he claims he is the one being bullied.

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GREENVILLE, S.C. — At a Republican primary debate watch party in suburban Charleston last week, there was something missing: any sign of support for home-state Sen. Lindsey Graham.  

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Sen. Ted Cruz said the turnout and raucous reception he received Sunday at a pair of campaign rallies in Alabama reminded him of the Iron Bowl.  

A top Republican pollster on Friday stressed to a gathering of the Christian right the need for an electable Republican presidential nominee, saying a nominee who can beat Hillary Rodham Clinton is a top priority among Republican voters.

With a wide open Republican field, Glen Bolger told the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority Conference his research shows that for GOP voters, electability might outweigh how close a candidate aligns to their values.

Of the three presidential candidates who spoke at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority Conference in Washington, D.C., Thursday, there was no question whom the audience was waiting for.  

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz walked on and offstage to raucous applause. The 300 or so lunching faithful erupted into cheers even before his introduction was complete.