Seth McLaughlin

Carly Fiorina squanders momentum, slips off Republican debate’s main stage

Carly Fiorina remains beloved in the eyes of many GOP voters but has squandered the momentum she earned in shining debate performances last summer, and limps into the new year hoping for a last-minute miracle in the presidential primary.

January 13, 2016

Donald Trump stuck on zero endorsements as GOP lawmakers back Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio

Donald Trump still doesn't have a single governor or member of Congress endorsing his bid for the White House — a stunning shutout for the Republican Party's national front-runner that underscores just how anathema he remains even for the most die-hard anti-Washington lawmakers.

January 13, 2016

Ted Cruz endorsed by ‘Duck Dynasty’ star Phil Robertson

"Duck Dynasty" patriarch Phil Robertson threw his support behind Sen. Ted Cruz's campaign for president on Wednesday, saying he is the right "godly" person for the job.

January 13, 2016

Chris Christie pushes to expand drug treatment in State of the State address

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie used his State of the State address Tuesday to call for a world where drug offenders get treatment rather than prison, as he and the rest of the Republican presidential field sought to draw clear contrasts with the grim dystopia they said President Obama laid out for the country in his State of the Union speech.

January 12, 2016

Rand Paul, Carly Fiorina bumped from main stage at next Republican debate

Sen. Rand Paul and businesswoman Carly Fiorina missed the cut for this week's prime-time Republican presidential debate in South Carolina, Fox Business Network announced Monday, dealing a blow to their presidential aspirations three weeks out from the first binding votes in the Republican nomination race.

January 11, 2016

Donald Trump and Ted Cruz running circles around the GOP field in Iowa: poll

Businessman Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas are locked in a tight race for first place in Iowa, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll that showed the two 2016 GOP presidential candidates are easily outpacing their closest rivals three weeks out from the state's caucuses.

January 11, 2016

Donald Trump extends lead in New Hampshire: poll

Donald Trump has extended his lead in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary, according to a new Monmouth University poll.

January 11, 2016

Undecided voters give hope to struggling candidates

Six months, six debates and unprecedented media attention still haven't been enough for GOP voters in Iowa and New Hampshire, most of whom say they still haven't completely decided who they'll back when the voting starts Feb. 1.

January 10, 2016

Donald Trump says Obama gun control executive orders ‘no good,’ ‘no fair’

Businessman Donald Trump touted his Second Amendment chops at a rally in New Hampshire on Tuesday by panning President Obama's latest push to tighten the nation's gun-control laws.

January 5, 2016

2016 Republican hopefuls take aim at ISIS, Obama, each other in campaign ads

GOP presidential contender Rick Santorum, the winner of the 2012 Iowa caucus, launched his first campaign ad this week characterizing Sen. Ted Cruz, the current Iowa front-runner, as a Mr. Rogers-like figure better suited for reciting lines from children's books than tackling terrorist threats.

January 5, 2016

Marco Rubio ratchets up attacks against Ted Cruz, Chris Christie

Criticized for keeping a less-than-rigorous campaign schedule, Sen. Marco Rubio and his allies are starting to make more noise in the early primary states, leveling stiff attacks against a couple of the Florida Republican's closest rivals in the hopes of bolstering his bid four weeks from the beginning of the nomination race.

January 5, 2016

Ted Cruz knocks mainstream media over immigration in new ad

GOP presidential contender Ted Cruz took aim at the "mainstream media" Tuesday by charging in a new television ad that it would see the issue of illegal immigration through a different prism if a herd of lawyers, bankers and journalists were charging across the U.S.-Mexico border.

January 5, 2016

Ted Cruz: Armed protesters in Oregon should stand down

GOP presidential contender Ted Cruz said Monday that the armed anti-government group that took over a national wildlife refuge in Oregon should stand down.

January 4, 2016

Ben Carson calls for 14.9 percent flat tax

GOP presidential contender Ben Carson detailed his plan Monday to overhaul the federal tax code, calling for it to be scrapped in favor of a 14.9 percent flat tax on individual and business income.

January 4, 2016

Nevada could lose early-voter status with messy caucuses in 2016

The Nevada Republican Party's ability to run snag-free caucuses this year could go a long way in deciding whether the state keeps its spot near the front of the nomination calendar in 2020.

January 3, 2016

Donald Trump, 2016 Republican rivals picking fights, alliances to survive

It's the price of success this primary season: As New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie surges in the polls in New Hampshire's Republican presidential primary, he has drawn the attention of front-runner Donald Trump, who has started aiming some well-placed barbs accusing Mr. Christie of being a party turncoat.

December 31, 2015

Jeb Bush beefing up ground forces in early-primary states: Report

Republican presidential contender Jeb Bush is rejiggering his approach to the 2016 presidential race, shifting resources away from television advertising and toward beef up its ground troops in the key early primary states, according to the The Des Moines Register.

December 30, 2015