With Carly Fiorina and Dr. Ben Carson throwing their hats into the 2016 ring, the GOP field is getting larger and more diverse. In fact, it’s the most diverse since at least 1992, according to Philip Bump of the Washington Post:
The addition of Carly Fiorina (not a white man) and Ben Carson (not a white man) to a Republican 2016 field that already includes Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Rand Paul means that the 2016 Republican field will likely be the most diverse from either party since at least 1992. Given how the country has diversified -- and given how many non-white-men are already in the GOP field -- it's likely that the current class is the most diverse ever.…
For 2016, we included a number of people who aren't yet actual candidates, including Martin O'Malley on the Democratic side and Republicans Scott Walker, Rick Perry, Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Lindsey Graham, Rick Santorum and Bobby Jindal. (Why didn't we include Trump? Because: Who is that? Who is "Trump"? Also.) Those likely candidates are the faded icons on the chart below.
Even once we add in all of those mostly white-male Republican maybes, the party's 2016 field is the most diverse on either side. One more white male, though, and the balance tips to the 2008 Democrats, with Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Bill Richardson in a smaller field. (In terms of the sheer number of non-white men, the giant 2016 GOP field will be hard to beat.) There's only one non-white woman on our chart: 2004 Democrat Carol Moseley Braun.
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As I’ve said in previous posts, there’s a serious candidate to represent the various wings that make up the Republican Party. They should compete and do battle on the debate stage. We have the luxury of choice. And those choices don’t involve anyone having shady dealings via donations to their family non-profit, or circumventing FOIA laws by having a private email server installed in a family home. As a result of this, Americans do not view the former first lady as honest. In fact, a substantial number of Democrats–four out of ten–in the AP-GFK poll noted that “honest” was not the best word to describe the former secretary of state. As Quinnipiac has said in their polling showing similar dismal numbers on Clinton’s trustworthiness, it’s hard to run as a strong, competent leader, while also being viewed as dishonest.
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