Walker's In

Scott Walker made it official yesterday, bringing the number of names on the Declared list to 16, with one more (Kasich) to come on the 21st. For pretty much all of this year, Walker, Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush have been called the "top tier" of candidates, with all the rest trailing somewhere behind. Now that all three are official candidates, will that change? Could be, because the really good stuff is just three weeks and two days away.

Now that almost everyone is officially in the race, it occurred to me that at some point people will start officially dropping out of the race. (Four years ago, Tim Pawlenty dropped out on August 16, 2011 after a less-exciting-than-hoped-for finish in the Iowa Straw Poll, but the Straw Poll isn't happening this year, so we could be well into next year before anyone has to swallow their pride and withdraw.)

When that happens, whenever it happens, we'll need a new list. Right now I'm thinking of calling it the "Caved And Faced Reality" list, but that could change. Any guesses for whose name is first on the list?

Declared GOP Candidates

1. Ted Cruz (March 23) 
2. Rand Paul (April 7)
3. Marco Rubio (April 14)
4. Dr. Ben Carson (May 3) 
5. Carly Fiorina (May 4) 
6. Mike Huckabee (May 5) 
7. Rick Santorum (May 27)
8. George Pataki (May 28)
9. Lindsey Graham (June 1) 
10. Rick Perry (June 4) 
11. Jeb Bush (June 15)
12. Donald Trump (June 16) 
13. Bobby Jindal (June 24) 
14. Chris Christie (June 30)
15. Jim Gilmore (July 8)
16. Scott Walker (July 13) 

Possible Republican Candidates
John Kasich (Announcement July 21)

Days until Election Day: 482