Pro forma party orimaries

Final list (3 current governors, 2 former governors, 3 current senators, Carson & Trump

1. Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey since 2010;
2. Scott Walker, Governor of Wisconsin since 2011;
3. John Kasich, Governor of Ohio since 2011;
4. Jeb Bush, Governor of Florida 1999–2007;
5. Mike Huckabee Governor of Arkansas 1996–2007; presidential candidate in 2008
6. Marco Rubio U.S. Senator from Florida since 2011;
7. Rand Paul U.S. Senator from Kentucky since 2011
8. Ted Cruz U.S. Senator from Texas since 2013;
9. Ben Carson Author and former Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery for Johns Hopkins Hospital
10. Donald Trump, business magnate and television personality from New York
    
    BELOW CUTOFF
11. Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana since 2008;
12. Jim Gilmore Governor of Virginia
13. Rick Perry, Governor of Texas 2000–2015;
14. George Pataki Governor of New York 1995-2006
15. Lindsey Graham U.S. Senator from South Carolina since 2003;
16. Rick Santorum U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania 1995-2007; presidential candidate in 2012
17. Carly Fiorina CEO of Hewlett-Packard 1999-2005; nominee for U.S. Senate from California in 2010

Quote: Pacomartin

Final list
Donald Trump, business magnate and television personality from New York

I'm not sure I dislike the GOP enough to want to see them lose all 50 states.

I am sure I dislike the Democrats enough NOT to want to see them win all 50 states.

Quote:

Jeb Bush, Governor of Florida 1999–2007

His best chance to win in the general election is to change his name to "Jeb Smith."

Quote: rxwine

Saw the head of the Democratic party Wassermun-Schultz in a interview this weekend that debates are already planned. Is Clinton saying she won't participate?

Debates among candidates for the 2016 Democratic Party U.S. presidential nomination
1 August/September 2015 Iowa TBD
2 August/September 2015 New Hampshire TBD
3 October/November 2015 South Carolina TBD
4 November/December 2015 Nevada TBD
5 January 2016 Iowa TBD
6 January 2016 TBD TBD

So far no one is signed up for any debates. Clinton will probably make minimal eye contact with the other contestants, and stick to speeches addressing the moderator.

Clinton
Chafee
O'Malley
Sanders
Webb

The general feeling is that Biden will join in about debate #4. His son, "Beau" Biden III died on May 30, 2015.

If your the front runner by enough of margin, but not got the plurality, let the other schmucks debate amongst each other, find the chinks in the armour, then you can come out swinging against the closest rival.

It worked for David Cameron in the UK election, Stephen Harper in Canada is trying something similar. It could backfire, but in the world of aggressive attack politics, let you and him fight.

Quote: TheCesspit

If your the front runner by enough of margin, but not got the plurality...

I think there is a difference in how BrE and AmE uses the word "plurality"

Example:Alice polling 40 votes, Bob 31, and Carol 29.
A Briton might say "Alice won with a majority of 9" (quote from Wikipedia)
In USA typically say Alice won with a "plurality".

In AmE typically we only use the word "majority" if that person exceeds 50%.

The AmE sense for "plurality" from 1828, but is not the traditional meaning of the word.

In the May NH State Poll, which included Elizabeth Warren on its list of candidates. In that poll, Clinton stood at 51%, with Warren at 20% and Sanders at 13%. In June according to a new CNN/WMUR New Hampshire Primary poll, there were 43% behind Clinton and 35% backing Sanders. So we would say she had a majority, and now has a "plurality".

This Briton got his terms mixed up and meant to say 'majority' not plurality.

Quote: TheCesspit

This Briton got his terms mixed up and meant to say 'majority' not plurality.

I wasn't sure since I read some of these comments and I wonder if modern media has brought the languages closer.

Every US presidential election except 1824 was won by a majority of electoral college votes. It was after this election that AmE began to use "plurality" to mean winning the most votes, but less than 50%.

Elections won with less than a plurality of popular votes
1. Election of 1824: John Quincy Adams: The election was decided by the House of Representatives under the provisions of Twelfth Amendment
2. Election of 1876: Rutherford B. Hayes : Compromise of 1877, in exchange for concession of the election, the Republicans agreed to withdraw federal troops from the South
3. Election of 1888: Benjamin Harrison: Cleveland lost re-election in the Electoral College, even though he won a plurality of the popular vote.
4. Election of 2000: George W. Bush: Gore lost election in the Electoral College, even though he won a plurality of the popular vote.

Elections won with a plurality of popular votes

1. Election of 1844: James K. Polk 49.5%
2. Election of 1848: Zachary Taylor 47.3%
3. Election of 1856: James Buchanan 45.3%
4. Election of 1860: Abraham Lincoln 39.7%
5. Election of 1880: James A. Garfield 48.27%
6. Election of 1892: Grover Cleveland 46.0%
7. Election of 1912: Woodrow Wilson 41.8%
8. Election of 1916: Woodrow Wilson 49.2%
9. Election of 1948: Harry S Truman 49.6%
10. Election of 1968: Richard Nixon 43.4%
11. Election of 1992: Bill Clinton 43.0%
12. Election of 1996: Bill Clinton 49.2%

Popular slang often blames these elections on a "spoiler" who split the vote and gave the election to the winner of the plurality.

Ross Perot is known as the spoiler of 1992 (18.9%) but less so in 1996 (8.4%). There are some analysts who believe Bill Clinton would have won in 1992 regardless.

Former Republican President Teddy Roosevelt (27.4%) was considered the "spoiler" of the 1912 election, but the socialist candidate Eugene V. Debs (6.0%).
Teddy Roosevelt carried 6 states while the incumbent Republican President Taft only carried 2 states.