Thursday, March 24, 2011

National Journal: 2012 Presidential Power Rankings

We rank the top 15 GOP contenders using four criteria:
  • Money: How much do they have? How much can they raise?
  • Campaign infrastructure: Do they have the ability to assemble a competitive and competent staff, both at the national and state levels?
  • Strengths: What issue(s) can the candidate truly hang their hat on? Is there a specific area of expertise they can sell to voters? Do they have a strong track record on one particular issue?
  • Weaknesses: Every candidate has one -- heck, most candidates have plenty -- and the reality is that eventually they will have to address them. This will be easier for some contenders than others: Explaining away one vote for bad legislation is far easier than justifying a major moral lapse or some fatally flawed executive decision. At the end of the day, some candidates will have weaknesses, and others will have albatrosses. It’s the latter group who should be worried.
RANKINGS: (ranking the last time)

1. Mitt Romney (1)
2. Tim Pawlenty (2)
3. Haley Barbour (6)
4. Newt Gingrich (7)
5. Mitch Daniels (5)
6. Mike Huckabee (3)
7. Sarah Palin (8)
8. Michelle Bachmann (12)
9. Jon Huntsmann (9)
10. Rick Santorum (10)
11. Rudy Giuliani (15)
12. Ron Paul (13)
13. Herman Cain (14)
14. Donald Trump (New)
15. Jim DeMint (11)

Who is trending since the 1st edition and 2nd edition of PPR:

RISING: Haley Barbour, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Rudy Giuliani, Ron Paul, Herman Cain

FALLING: Mike Huckabee, Jim DeMint

ARRIVALS: Donald Trump

DEPARTURES: John Thune

To read the Journal's explanation for each candidate's ranking, go HERE.

4 comments:

zappo said...

2. Tim Pawlenty (2)
3. Haley Barbour (6)
4. Newt Gingrich (7)

That just ended any credibility in these rankings.

Anonymous said...

The 1st choice looks fine. The rest... not so much.

zeke

Bill589 said...

IMO, there is SP, and there is the GOP’s ABP. (Anybody But Palin)

My guess for ABP is Mitt. T-Paw tries so hard, but I’m not convinced.

Anonymous said...

I'm surprised Palin is so high on the list. Most other polls have her ranked much lower. Another thing, why did she immediately remove the Star of David, upon returning to the US? Was that just a prop too?