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One year ago, some people thought that there was a strong chance Jeb Bush would become the Republican candidate for the 2016 presidential election. Unfortunately for Mr. Bush, that isn't looking very likely according to the polls. In fact, no matter how much he tries to attack his opponents, Jeb Bush keeps sinking further and further. On Friday, the Wall Street Journal asked if Jeb Bush could save his presidency. They first described his major problem. "Yet Jeb Bush, who aspires to be the third President Bush in three decades, so far hasn't found a sizable GOP market. Often wobbling...

Jeb Bush and his super PAC are set to assault New Hampshire airwaves with a series of ads leading up the first-in-the-nation presidential primary. The spending looks like an effort by Bush to empty campaign coffers, filled in a fundraising haul started in late 2014, in a last ditch effort to gain ground in a state famous for anointing the Republican establishment standard-bearer. This strategy includes two ads from Bush's PAC, Right to Rise. Those ads are set to air in New Hampshire during the Super Bowl. The Boston Herald reported that the Bush team has reserved more than $14...

Jeb Bush's operation has spent an incredible amount of money already during this campaign - to no apparent effect. According to ad-buying data from SMG Delta, posted by Mark Murray of NBC News, Bush's Super PAC and campaign have already spent a massive $32.5 million on ads in total - far, far more than the operation of any other GOP candidate. In fact, Team Bush's spending is twice as much as the combined money spent on ads for the top four GOP candidates in the polls - Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Ben Carson. Yet Bush remains in...

I used to feel bad for Jeb because he was so overmatched in his war of words with Trump, but Trump doesn’t bother much with him now that he’s faded in the polls. Lately I feel bad for him because no matter how far he falls and how much people goof on his struggles, he and his team seem dead set on staggering on to New Hampshire. His ads may be ineffective and his media appearances may be completely overshadowed by Trump’s, but there’s simply no way Bushworld will accept the humiliation of quitting the race before any votes...

The Jeb Bush backers who poured more than $100 million into pro-Bush super PAC Right to Rise haven't exactly been getting a lot of bang for their buck. The group has already spent more than $49 million, not including salaries and other operating expenses, only to have its candidate's poll numbers drop to the low single figures, the Washington Post reports. The spending blitz included $18.5 million on Bush ads in New Hampshire, where Politico reports he's still stuck in sixth place. The super PAC still has more than $67 million, according to finance filings, but that may not be...

Despite being a favorite of the U.S. Republican Party establishment and a presumed top-tier candidate at the start of the race, Jeb Bush continues to struggle to gain momentum in the presidential campaign, even as the voting season quickly approaches. Bush's troubles were underscored this past week with the release of a new CNN/ORC poll, which suggested the former Florida governor now has the support of an astoundingly low 3 percent of Republican and Republican-leaning independents nationwide.

Jeb Bush has tried everything. His campaign allies have blanketed the airwaves with almost $30 million in ads. Aiming to shake the "low-energy" tag and prove his toughness, Bush hit Donald Trump as a carnival barker unfit for the serious job of being President. He attacked Sen. Marco Rubio, suggesting his former protege was a dilettante in a hurry. He cut staff, hired a debate coach, and pledged that "Jeb Can Fix It." Bush is now polling at 3% -- and dropping. The 3% figure puts Bush in sixth place in the national GOP race, according to the CNN/ORC poll...

Donald Trump has re-established his commanding lead of the Republican presidential race in a new Washington Post/ABC News poll. If anything, the poll shows that Trump's surge seems to be strong and possibly getting stronger. As the Post points out, the poll comes after a "tumultuous period that has included terrorist attacks in Paris, calls for stepped-up efforts to combat Islamic State militants, a backlash against accepting refugees from Syria, and two Republican debates..." Trump's sizable lead puts him ahead of the popular but controversial Ben Carson. Trump leads the field with 32 percent support among registered Republicans and Republican-leaning...

A couple of new national polls have come out over the weekend. They are very similar: Both polls show the race to be between four candidates divided into two distinct tiers. What is most telling, though, is the way that Jeb Bush has found a comfy home at around 5%. Via the RCP average

Donald Trump has fended off a challenge by Ben Carson in the early voting state of Iowa and maintained his lead elsewhere, according to the latest wave of the YouGov/CBS News Battleground Poll. 30% likely Republican caucus goers in Iowa name Trump as their choice for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, receives 19% support, behind Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas who receives 21%. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida receives 11%. In a YouGov/CBS News poll last month, Trump and Carson were tied with 27% support each among voters in the Hawkeye State. Other polls even found...

HOUSTON — Right to Rise USA, the super PAC supporting former Florida governor Jeb Bush's campaign for president, is considering deploying ground staff to key states after focusing most heavily on running television ads so far. It's a notable strategic consideration that comes as Bush's campaign for the Republican presidential nomination has struggled to gain traction in early-voting states and as it makes moves to curtail costs in what began as a sprawling operation.

What happens when a candidate whose greatest strength is the sense of inevitability surrounding him becomes something short of inevitable? That’s the question that is facing former Florida governor Jeb Bush’s presidential candidacy amid only so-so polling numbers nationally and in early-voting states and that is behind a fundraising operation premised on “shock and awe” but, to date, is producing mostly “awww.” -snip- Jeb Bush, of course, has long been given a pass on his candidate fundraising because his super PAC — Right to Rise — brought in more than $100 million over the first six months of the year,...

Independent businessman and political enigma Greg Orman (46 percent) is leading three-term Republican incumbent Pat Roberts (41 percent) in the race for U.S. Senate in Kansas, with 11 percent undecided, according to the latest Suffolk University/USA TODAY poll of likely voters in the general election. In the race for governor, Democratic state Rep. Paul Davis (46 percent) is leading incumbent Sam Brownback (42 percent), a Republican, with 6 percent undecided in the survey conducted by the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston.

First-time political candidate David Perdue won a surprise victory over favored Rep. Jack Kingston in the Republican runoff for the US Senate nomination in Georgia. Kingston, who had the backing of the US Chamber of Commerce as well as conservatives such as my Salem colleague Erick Erickson, had been leading in almost every poll as the runoff approached. In the end, Perdue’s outsider message may have won the day: Businessman David Perdue stunned Georgia’s Republican political establishment Tuesday by capturing the party’s U.S. Senate nomination in his first run for office.The former CEO of Reebok and Dollar General toppled 11-term...

Although the stunning upset win by political newcomer David Perdue in the Republican runoff for the Senate was the big news from Georgia on Tuesday night, the tea party also had a night to remember in the Peach State. In two of three runoffs for the Republican nomination for Congress in open U.S. House districts, tea party-backed candidates emerged triumphant and are now considered certain to win in November. The biggest win was scored by former state senator and swashbuckling conservative Barry Loudermilk in the 11th District in suburban Atlanta that Rep. Phil Gingrey relinquished to run for the Senate....

Neel Kashkari swings an axe in his ubiquitous television commercial. But he hasn't found an axe big enough to cut into Tim Donnelly's lead among Republican voters. A new Hoover Institution "Golden State" poll shows that Kashkari is only pulling 5% of the vote, barely above the 4% margin of error, a distant third behind popular Democrat incumbent Gov. Jerry Brown at 36%, and Tea Party favorite Assemblyman Tim Donnelly with 12%. A large chunk of voters--35% overall--is still undecided. Kashkari will need to tap into those voters in the final few days of the race in order to finish...

Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (R) is very likely to lose his reelection bid today, in what would be the latest huge setback (and a potentially fatal blow) in a once-promising political career that had the wealthy second-in-command on a crash course for the U.S. Senate. In doing so, Dewhurst is likely to become the first big-name Republican to lose two primaries against the tea party — and only two years apart. So what the heck happened to David Dewhurst? In sum: The seeds for his likely loss were planted long ago, and it's not all his fault. But there...

The once promising political career of three term Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst is expected to come to an end today, as challenger Dan Patrick is expected to defeat Dewhurst in today's Republican runoff, handing the Tea Party one of its biggest victories of the year, 1200 WOAI news reports.

There’s panic in some quarters of the Texas Republican Party. The movement conservatives are poised to strike a mighty blow in Tuesday’s runoff elections. If all goes well for these tea partiers and libertarians, they will be on the way to taking control of critical statewide offices and key seats in the Legislature. The list includes Dan Patrick for lieutenant governor and Ken Paxton for attorney general. The crowd already scored a victory in Dallas with businessman Don Huffines’ win over incumbent state Sen. John Carona. So how did this all happen? Republicans have had solid control over all parts...

Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has been one of the most powerful figures in Texas since 2002, but he could be ousted Tuesday by GOP voters who appear ready to steer the state even further to the right by backing tea party favorites over establishment candidates. Despite spending $5 million of his own fortune on his campaign, Dewhurst has struggled to gain ground on state Sen. Dan Patrick. A victory by Patrick, a fiery conservative talk radio host and founder of the Legislature’s tea party caucus, would complete the overhaul of every elected statewide office next year when Gov. Rick...