USA TODAY 2016 GOP Power Rankings: WEEK 1

Welcome to the USA TODAY 2016 GOP Power Rankings.

Taking inspiration from the college football Amway Coaches Poll run by our pals at USA TODAY Sports, we here at the politics desk have assembled a diverse panel of “coaches” — including former presidential candidate Herman Cain, former congressman Dan Maffei and other activists, analysts and experts around the country — who will vote each week on who is the strongest candidate in the GOP field.

The Week 1 results show broad consensus that Donald Trump is crushing the competition. He received 25 first-place votes.

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But Ben Carson has stormed to a strong second, with 17 of our voters giving him a No. 2 ranking. “While the media follows Donald Trump’s every move, Dr. Ben Carson has quietly been running an impressive campaign in Iowa,” said Craig Robinson, editor of the Iowa Republican. “The biggest development is that there is now evidence that he is building support from the state’s social conservative base.” ...

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