Almost two years before the American people will be able to elect a new president, the presidential race has slowly but surely started. History teaches us that most serious candidates will announce their intentions in early 2007 to give them ample time for fundraising before the all-important Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary in January 2008.
For now it is seems like the ‘ones to beat’ in the upcoming primaries will be Rudy Giuliani and John McCain for the Republicans, while the Democratic nomination will probably be fought out between Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, John Edwards and Barack Obama, with Clinton as the clear front-runner. But what do we know? Most mainstream media made Howard Dean out to be the favorite in 2004 and look what happened there.
Therefore, it would be wise to keep track of the other names that are mentioned. People like Joe Biden, Wesley Clark, Tom Vilsack, Bill Richardson and Evan Bayh for the Democrats and Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Bill Frist and Sam Brownback for the Republicans.
Starting today, The Armchair Politician will be hosting a weekly ‘Spot the Candidate’-article, tracking the presidential hopefuls of both parties on the campaign trail. This will become more frequent as the race intensifies. For now, a recap of the current candidates and the main headlines:
*On the Republican side, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and Senator John McCain of Arizona have set up presidential exploratory committees, joining Rep. Duncan Hunter of California who already did so before the recent midterm elections. John Cox of Illinois and Michael Charles Smith of Oregon have officially announced their candidacy.
*Meanwhile, on the Democratic side of the aisle, Tom Vilsack has officially announced his intention to run for presidency, joining former Senator Mike Gravel of Alaska, who did so last April.
*Last Thursday, John McCain, in a manner reminiscent of Ronald Reagan in 1976, outlined his ideas for a new direction for the GOP. The message centered on a return to “our conservative principles”: restrained spending, smaller government, lower taxes, a strong national defense and family values. Over the past month, McCain has been spotted making campaign contributions to Republicans in Iowa and New Hampshire while his aides have been frequenting those states.
*Also on Thursday, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney announced his intentions to appear at an anti same-sex-marriage rally this coming Sunday. He will demand that lawmakers vote to end same-sex marriages in his state. Proponents of same-sex marriages accuse Romney of using the rally as a vehicle to showcase himself to conservatives across the country.
The latest polls have John McCain and Rudy Giuliani locked in a very tight race for the Republican nomination with Hillary Clinton as the clear favorite for the Democratic nod, with Barack Obama trailing her by 12 points.
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