The GOP Racing Form, Second Edition

Charles Krauthammer, the Conservative opinion writer at the Washington Post, is back with what he calls the GOP Racing Form, second edition, in which he ranks the Republican candidates for president. (His first list was published on March 27, I wrote about it here.)

This is how things look to Krauthammer today, in four groups:

Top Tier
1. Jeb Bush
2. Scott Walker
3. Marco Rubio

Polls Well But Can't Win
4. Rand Paul
5. Dr. Ben Carson

Krauthammer reminds Dr. Carson that we haven't elected a nonpolitician since 1952, and that guy (Eisenhower) won World War II. This applies to Carly Fiorina too.

Second Tier, With A Chance To Jump
6. Ted Cruz
7. John Kasich
8. Carly Fiorina

Second Tier, In Need Of A Miracle
9. Rick Perry
10. Chris Christie
11. Mike Huckabee

Of the 11 names on the list, Rubio, Paul, Carson, Cruz, Fiorina, Perry and Huckabee are declared candidates, Bush is announcing Monday and Walker, Kasich and Christie still haven't made it official. All three are probably running and should announce soon; I've come to believe there's a slight sliver of possibility that in the end Chris Christie takes a pass.  

Not on Krauthammer's list are Lindsey Graham, Bobby Jindal and Rick Santorum. He describes these guys as "eminently likable and highly qualified," a point-of-view not everyone shares, and says that they have yet to make their move. Given that Graham and Santorum have officially declared and Jindal is announcing on June 24, Krauthammer must be referring to making a move up in the polls. If they do, he'll add them to his racing form. (Read the article here.)

Also not on the list, not even mentioned, in fact, is Donald Trump, whose big announcement is now just four short days away. Is it possible that he would really, officially, run? It's almost impossible to fathom, but anyone with any kind of interest in primary politics, including me, is salivating at the thought of The Donald on a debate stage. Get the popcorn...

Days until Election Day: 514
First GOP debate: August 6