Scott Walker tweets he is running for president and releases 2016 campaign video

Home Top

show ad

PICTURED: The four Marines ruthlessly shot dead by Kuwaiti-born Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez in Chattanooga terror attack
'I told them I loved them and that it would be OK': Teen who survived a plane crash tells how she braved blaze as she desperately tried to free her screaming grandparents from the wreckage
George Bush is 'already out of bed' after breaking bone in his neck but his doctor reveals it will take four months to heal
Sex offender gunman at large in Maine after shooting four people in three towns overnight
'I will never forget the silhouette of the gun': Survivors of the Dark Knight massacre call for the death penalty as James Holmes is found guilty on ALL 165 charges
Obama snubs the Waldorf Astoria for his NYC visit amid fears the hotel is bugged by the Chinese, breaking a presidential tradition started when Hoover was in the White House
EXCLUSIVE: Cop at center of Eric Garner chokehold killing is pictured smiling a year to the day since death which set off race storm - and he is STILL under 24-hour armed guard
US inspectors will be banned from all Iranian nuclear sites under controversial deal amid warnings 'only American experts can tell if they are cheating'
Are YOU a narcissist? Take this test to discover if you have an out-sized ego that needs to be tamed
Body of girl, 12, found in field just hours after her parents reported she was missing in middle of the night
'For my chunky chick': Florists reveal the rudest, loveliest and downright weirdest messages people request to be written with flowers
ISIS film a CHILD carrying out a beheading for the first time: 'Cub of the Caliphate' is the first seen executing a prisoner by decapitation as the terror group increasingly use boys to kill
Yazidi women kidnapped by ISIS and forced to marry fighters tell of the horrors they endured before escaping the terror group including being raped five times a day and sold as sex slaves
French Muslim teenager arrested on terror charges 'was told to "hit France" by ISIS recruiter after his mother reported him to authorities and blocked him travelling to Syria'
Salman Rushdie condemned for telling parody Twitter account holder @RushdieExplains to stop using his name because 'the joke has worn thin'
High school sports team to keep 'Midgets' nickname despite campaign to get it changed for being 'offensive'
From an MMA fighter arrested with white powder around his nose to a devout muslim blogger on a mystery seven-mouth tour of the Middle East: The transformation of marine killer Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez
Caitlyn Jenner's courage award helps ESPYs triple its TV audience after switch to ABC
'She's redefining the DadBod': A watch company trying to support Caitlyn Jenner's award at the ESPYs gets it wrong and comes under fire for insensitive tweet
Former Marine who strangled his stepfather with 'atomic wedgie' for insulting his mother is jailed for 30 years
Eye shadow on the scalp, toothbrush to tease and conditioner BEFORE shampoo: Easy hair hacks every woman should know
Furious road rage driver meets his match when victim fights back and pins him to the ground with ease before calling the police
Missing cobra believed to have killed teen pet shop worker is found dead
Man is arrested on suspicion of stealing $30 in a heist at a LEMONADE STAND after teenage girls gave him a free drink because he had no money

Wisconsin governor tweeted: 'I'm in. I'm running for president because Americans deserve a leader who will fight and win for them'
Tweet was accompanied by hashtag #Walker16 and a link to Walker's new campaign website featuring announcement video
Walker will formally kick off his campaign at an event in Waukesha, Wisconsin, at 6.15pm, and is the 15th Republican in the 2016 race
Gay marriage issue and his sword-crossing with labor unions are likely to be hot-button issues in his campaign
Walker pushed for a law that would have banned same-sex marriage but attended a lesbian couple's wedding reception
'That issue is going to kill him in the primary,' predicted a New Hampshire GOP operative

By David Martosko, Us Political Editor For Dailymail.com and Wires

Published: 00:00 EST, 13 July 2015 | Updated: 11:53 EST, 14 July 2015

149

View
comments

‘I’m in.’

With these words sent over Twitter Monday morning, Scott Walker has entered an already crowded field of Republican candidates vying for the White House.

The Wisconsin governor, who becomes the 15th Republican to formally announce a presidential candidacy, has a resume that appeals to conservatives, helping put him among the top contenders for his party's nomination in poll after poll.

Walker's advisers say he will portray himself as a 'fighter who can win' at a 6.15pm campaign launch in Waukesha, just outside of Milwaukee.

But one fight he's already lost, the gay marriage battle, could become a major headache for him.

'That issue is going to kill him in the primary,' predicted a New Hampshire GOP operative who has consulted with three of the current GOP candidates in the past. 'He's got a hypocrisy problem.

Scroll down for video

He's in: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker announced Monday morning on social media that he is running for president, making him the 15th Republican candidate

Walker's formal announcement, scheduled for Monday evening, was preceded by this tweet sent out to his 149,000 supporters at around 6.30am Eastern time

Still running: An hour after his initial tweet, Walker followed up with a second message reiterating that he's running for president

CONFLICT: Scott Walker and his wife Tonette flank a newly married lesbian couple, Shelli Marquardt and Cathy Priem, who wed two days after state courts ruled against Walker's defense of a same-sex marriage ban

In June 2014, while forcefully advocating for a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, Walker smiled with a lesbian newlywed couple at their wedding reception.

Shelli Marquardt and Cathy Priem married on June 9 last year at a civil courthouse ceremony in Waukesha County.

The couple had then been together for 17 years and have a son, now 16. Marquardt's cousin is Tonette Walker, the governor's wife.

Weeks later, the Walkers hosted an Independence Day barbecue at the governor's mansion, co-hosted by Priem and Marquardt.

Priem told Daily Mail Online this month that 'I don't think that he is against same-sex marriage.'

Marquardt added that 'he has been nothing but supportive of our relationship and wanted us to have love in our lives. He attended our reception last August 9. He is a faithful person who tries to love everyone and not to judge.'

The clash between Walker's public position on the issur and his private support of the gay couple has already caused friction in his own family: His sons, one of whom was the best man at the wedding, says he strongly disagrees with his dad.

But 'Matt and I aren’t necessarily changing his stances on any issues,' Alex Walker told CNN on Sunday. 'We respect his opinion on things.'

Scott Walker releases video confirming presidential run

Family affair: The official Independence Day barbecue at the executive mansion last year was co-hosted by a married gay couple who are related to Walker's wife Tonette

Walker's formal announcement was preceded by a tweet sent out at 6.30am Eastern Time that read: 'I'm in. I'm running for president because Americans deserve a leader who will fight and win for them.'

The message to his 149,000 followers was accompanied by the hashtag #Walker16 and a link to his new campaign website featuring his announcement video promising to 'make our country great again.'

The video clocking in at 1 minute 30 seconds is heavy on images of Walker sporting a Harley-Davidson baseball cap speaking to a crowd in an Iowa cornfield, as well as his 2010 battle with unions. The video includes Walker speaking directly to the camera touting his willingness to take on big fights.

'We didn't nibble around the edges,' he says.

Walker's campaign got off to a rocky start when on Friday his Twitter account fired off a message, apparently by accident, prematurely announcing that the governor was running for president.

Walker's aides were later forced to retract the untimely campaign launch, which they blamed on a technical glitch.

The 47-year-old Republican has won three statewide elections in four years, including his defeat of a 2012 recall effort over his challenge to the collective bargaining process for most public unions in Wisconsin. He won his first gubernatorial election in 2010 and was re-elected last November.

Working the crowd: A video announceing Walker's run for the White House is heavy on images of Walker sporting a Harley-Davidson baseball cap speaking to a crowd in an Iowa cornfield

Tooting his own horn: Walker on Sunday signed a budget into law, which plugged a $2.2billion shotfall

Tough talk: The video includes Walker speaking directly to the camera touting his willingness to take on big fights, not 'nibble around the edges'

'If you could accomplish half of what he's done in Wisconsin in Washington, D.C., you would go down as one of the greatest presidents ever,' said Walker's top political adviser Rick Wiley.

Walker cut income and corporate taxes by nearly $2billion, lowered property taxes, legalized the carrying of concealed weapons, made abortions more difficult to obtain, required photo identification when voting and made Wisconsin a right-to-work state.

His budget this year, which plugged a $2.2billion shortfall when he signed it into law Sunday, requires drug screenings for public benefit recipients, expands the private school voucher program, freezes tuition at the University of Wisconsin while cutting funding by $250million and removing tenure protections from state law.

Such achievements may appeal to conservatives who hold outsized sway in Republican primaries, yet some could create challenges in a general election should Walker ultimately become the GOP's nominee. Voter ID laws, abortion restrictions, liberal gun policies and education cuts are not necessarily popular among swing-state independents.

'Ultimately Walker has to show all these victories and political successes have shown real results,' said Democratic pollster Paul Maslin.

Walker's record is well-known to Wisconsin voters, a state where the second-term governor engenders fierce loyalty and fierce opposition. Protesters who first crowded the state Capitol in 2011 in demonstrations as large as 100,000 still gather daily, although only about a dozen or so at a time, to sing anti-Walker songs.

Jumped the gun: Scott Walker's Twitter account stole his thunder Friday and announced his presidential run - apparently by accident

Contrast: This was the letter Scott Walker wrote seeking the support of Wisconsin Family Action in which he said he wanted a constitutional amendment to secure marriage as between 'one man and one woman'

Anger over Walker's 2011 union law led to the failed 2012 recall. His team created a video this week, called 'Recall the Recalls,' to tell that story again, especially for those who are taking their first serious look at Walker as a presidential candidate.

Walker's three governor's races left him with a far-reaching donor database of more than 300,000 names. He shattered state fundraising records, collecting $83million for his three Wisconsin elections, much of it coming from outside the state.

He begins his 2016 presidential bid with at least $20million to spread his message, raised by two outside groups not subject to campaign finance donation limits, according to sources with direct knowledge of the fundraising operation. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to publicly discuss private fundraising strategy.

Walker's union clashes will be featured prominently during today's campaign launch, which is being held in the same convention hall where he hosted his victory party after the recall election.

'A lot of people, that was their first introduction to Walker,' Wiley said, calling the union battle and subsequent recall win 'one of our biggest assets.'

Yet the specific impact of Walker's fight with labor unions is open to debate.

The governor often highlights rising test scores and graduation rates as evidence that the 2011 union law worked.

What he doesn't mention is Wisconsin's graduation rates were increasing for years before he took office, and the recent growth is not as strong as the national average. Wisconsin's ACT scores have been among the best in the nation since before Walker was elected. They ranked third the year before he took office and ranked second in 2012.

Past victories: The 47-year-old Republican has won three statewide elections in four years

Walker also talks about how the 2011 union law saved taxpayers $3billion as of late 2014, saying state and local governments have used "tools" he provided them to reduce spending on pensions and health benefits for public employees.

While it's true that the state and local governments have saved roughly that amount, the costs have been shifted to the employees who have to pay more for those benefits.

Critics note that Walker too often ignores where he's fallen short.

The state's chief economic development agency that Walker created, a hybrid public-private partnership, has been beset with problems, including handing out $124million in loans without properly vetting the recipients.

Walker was over 100,000 jobs short on his signature 2010 campaign promise to create 250,000 private-sector jobs. Wisconsin's job growth has lagged not only the national average but its Midwest neighbors as well.

He's also been dogged by two investigations, neither of which have yet to result in charges filed against him. The first resulted in a variety of criminal convictions, including misconduct in office, against six of his former aides and associates when he was Milwaukee County executive.

The second investigation, currently on hold while the state Supreme Court considers a trio of lawsuits, centers on whether Walker's recall campaign illegally coordinated with independent groups.

Walker's inexperience in international affairs has shown through on occasion. He said his battle with labor unions had prepared him to take on militant groups like Islamic State, a comment that spurred criticism. While on a trip to London, he dodged a question about whether he believes in the theory of evolution.

Next in line? President Barack Obama talks with Walker after arriving on Air Force One at La Crosse Regional Airport in La Crosse, Wisconsin, July 2

David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, said Walker will need to prove he has learned more about foreign policy and national security, which many Republicans see as critical issues in the 2016 election.

'He will have to answer questions about Iran and nuclear weapons and Afghanistan and the size of the military and all those things,' Yepsen said.

In recent months Walker has shifted to the right in a way that will give rise to attacks from his rivals about his authenticity.

He no longer supports a legal pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants. And he backed a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, after saying during his re-election campaign last year that a decision whether to have an abortion should be between a woman and her doctor.

Those positions may help him solidify his support among Republicans in Iowa ahead of a February 1 nominating contest in the state, which traditionally holds the first major electoral event in the race for the White House.

Walker will get a chance to see whether his strategy is translating into support in other early voting states during an initial week of campaigning that will include stops in Nevada, South Carolina, New Hampshire and Iowa.

'He's on his way to being president of Iowa. The issue is, can he carry that forward,' Republican strategist Scott Reed said.

THE 2016 FIELD: WHO'S IN AND WHO'S THINKING IT OVER

A whopping 20 people from America's two major political parties have declared themselves candidates in the 2016 presidential election.

The field includes two women, an African-American and two Latinos. All but one in that group – Hillary Clinton – are Republicans.

A few Democrats are still assessing their chances. And although the GOP field is deeper than ever, at least two more contenders could still join the race.

REPUBLICANS IN THE RACE

Jeb Bush Former Florida governor

Age: 62

Religion: Catholic

Base: Moderates

Résumé: Former Florida governor and secretary of state. Former co-chair of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.

Education: B.A. University of Texas at Austin.

Family: Married to Columba Bush (1974), with three adult children. Noelle Bush has made news with her struggle with drug addiction, and related arrests. George P. Bush was elected Texas land commissioner in 2014. Jeb's father George H.W. Bush was the 41st Presdient of the United States, and his brother George W. Bush was number 43.

Claim to fame: CJeb was an immensely popular governor with strong economic and jobs credentials. He is also one of just two GOP candidates who is fluent in Spanish.

Achilles heel: Bush has angered conservatives with hsi permissive positions on illegal immigration (saying some border-crossing is 'an act of love) and common-core education standards. His last name could also be a liability with voters who fear establishing a family dynasty in the White House.

Chris Christie New Jersey governor

Age: 52

Religion: Catholic

Base: Establishment-minded conservatives

Résumé: Governor of New Jersey. Former U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. Former Morris County freeholder and lobbyist.

Governor of New Jersey. Former U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. Former Morris County freeholder. Former statehouse lobbyist.

Education: B.A. University of Delaware, Newark, J.D. Seton Hall University.

Family: Married to Mary Pat Foster (1986) with four children.

Claim to fame: Pugnacious and unapologetic, Christie once told a heckler to 'sit down and shut up' and brings a brash style to everything he does. That includes the post-9/11 criminal prosecutions of terror suspects that made his reputation as a hard-charger.

Achilles heel: Christie is often accused of embracing an ego-driven and needlessly abrasive style. His administration continues to operate under a 'Bridgegate' cloud: At least two aides have been indicted in an alleged scheme to shut down lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge as political retribution for a mayor who refused to endorse the governor's re-election.

Carly Fiorina Former CEO

Age: 60

Religion: Episcopalian

Base: Conservatives

Résumé: Former CEO of Hewett-Packard. Former group president of Lucent Technologies. Onetime U.S. Senate candidate in California.

Education: B.A. Stanford University. UCLA School of Law (did not finish). M.B.A. University of Maryland. M.Sci. Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Family: Married to Frank Fiorina (1985), with one adult step-daughter and another who is deceased. She has two step-grandchildren. Divorced from Todd Bartlem (1977-1984).

Claim to fame: Fiorina was the first woman to lead a Fortune 20 company, something that could provide ammunition against the Democratic Party's drive to make Hillary Clinton the first female president. She is also the only woman in the 2016 GOP field, making her the one Republican who can't be accused of sexism.

Achilles heel: Fiorina's unceremonious firing by HP's board has led to questions about her management and leadership styles. And her only political experience has been a failed Senate bid in 2010 against Barbara Boxer.

Mike Huckabee Former Arkansas governor

Age: 59

Religion: Southern Baptist

Base: Evangelicals

Résumé: Former governor and lieutenant governor of Arkansas. Former Fox News Channel host. Ordained minister and author.

Education: B.A. Ouachita Baptist University. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (did not finish).

Family: Married to Janet Huckabee (1974), with three adult children. Mrs. Huckabee is a survivor of spinal cancer.

Claim to fame: 'Huck' is a political veteran and has run for president before, winning the Iowa Caucuses in 2008 and finishing second for the GOP nomination behind John McCain. He's known as an affable Christian and succeeded in building a huge following on his weekend television program, in which he frequently sat in on the electric bass with country & western groups and other 'wholesome' musican entertainers.

Achilles heel: Huckabee may have a problem with female voters. He complained in 2014 about Obamacare's mandatory contraception coverage, saying Democrats want women to 'believe that they are helpless without Uncle Sugar.' He earned more scorn for hawking herbal supplements in infomercials as a diabetes cure, something he has yet to disavow despite disagreement from medical experts.

George Pataki Former New York governor

Age: 69

Religion: Catholic

Base: Centrists

Résumé: Former governor of New York. Former New York state senator and state assemblyman. Former mayor of Peekskill, NY.

Education: B.A. Yale University. J.D. Columbia Law School.

Family: Married to Libby Rowland (1973), with four adult children.

Claim to fame: Pataki was just the third Republican governor in New York's history, winning an improbable victory over three-term incumbent Mario Cuomo in 1994. He was known for being a rare tax-cutter in Albany and was also the sitting governor when the 9/11 terror attacks rocked New York CIty in 2001.

Achilles heel: While Pataki's liberal-leaning social agenda plays well in the Empire State, it won't win him any fans among the GOP's conservative base. He supports abortion rights and gay rights, and has advocated strongly in favor of government intervention to stop global warming, which right-wingers believe is overblown as a global threat.

Rand Paul Kentucky senator

Age: 52

Religion: Presbyterian

Base: Libertarians

Résumé: US senator. Board-certified ophthalmologist. Former congressional campaign manager for his father Ron Paul.

Education: Baylor University (did not finish). M.D. Duke University School of Medicine.

Family: Married to Kelley Ashby (1990), with three sons. His father is a former Texas congressman who ran for president three times but never got close to grabbing the brass ring.

Claim to fame: Paul embraces positions that are at odds with most in the GOP, including an anti-interventionist foreign policy, reduced military spending, criminal drug sentencing reform for African-Americans and strict limits on government electronic surveillance – including a clampdown on the National Security Agency.

Achilles heel: Paul's politics are aligned with those of his father, whom mainstream GOPers saw as kooky. Both Pauls have advocated for a brand of libertarianism that forces government to stop domestic surveillance programs and limits foreign military interventions.

Rick Santorum Former Penn. senator

Age: 57

Religion: Catholic

Base: Evangelicals

Résumé: Former US senator and former member of the House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Former lobbyist who represented World Wrestling Entertainment.

Education: B.A. Penn State University. M.B.A. University of Pittsburgh. J.D. Penn State University Dickinson School of Law.

Family: Married to Karen Santorum (1990), with seven living children. One baby was stillborn in 1996. Another, named Isabella, is a special needs child with a genetic disorder.

Claim to fame: Santorum won the 2012 Republican Iowa Caucuses by a nose. He won by visiting all of Iowa's 99 states in a pickup truck belonging to his state campaign director, a consultant who now worls for Donald Trump.

Achilles heel: As a young lobbyist, Santorum persuaded the federal government to exempt pro wrestling from regulations governing the use of anabolic steroids. And the stridently conservative politician has attracted strong opposition from gay rights groups. One gay columnist held a contest to redefine his name, buying the 'santorum.com' domain to advertise the winning entry – which is too vulgar to print.

Scott Walker Wisconsin governor

Age: 47

Religion: Christian (nondenominational)

Base: Conservative activists

Résumé: Governor of Wisconsin. Former Milwaukee County Executive. Former member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Education: Marquette University (did not finish)

Family: Married to Tonette Tarantino (1993), with two children. One of Mrs. Walker's cousins is openly lesbian and was married in 2014, with the Walkers attending the reception.

Claim to fame: Walker built his national fame on the twin planks of turning his state's past budget shortfalls into surpluses and beating back a labor-union-led drive to force him out of office through a recall election. Both results have broad appeal in the GOP.

Achilles heel: Wisconsin has suffered from a shaky economy during Walker's tenure, which makes him look weak compared with other governors who presided over more robust job-creation numbers. He promised to create 250,000 private sector jobs but delivered less than 60 per cent of them. Also, he led an effort in the state legislature to enact $800 million in tax cuts – putting the Badger State back on the road to government deficits.

Ben Carson Retired Physician

Age: 63

Religion: Seventh-day Adventist

Base: Evangelicals

Résumé: Famous pediatric neurosurgeon, youngest person to head a major Johns Hopkins Hospital division. Founder of the Carson Scholars Fund, which awards scholarships to children of good character.

Education: B.A. Yale University. M.D. University of Michigan Medical School.

Family: Married to Candy Carson (1975), with three adult sons. The Carsons live in Maryland with Ben's elderly mother Sonya, who was a seminal influence on his life and development.

Claim to fame: Carson spoke at a National Prayer Breakfast in 2013, railing against political correctness and condemned Obamacare – with President Obama sitting just a few feet away.

Achilles heel: Carson is inflexibly conservative, opposing gay marriage and once saying gay attachments formed in prison provided evidence that sexual orientation is a choice.

Ted Cruz Texas senator

Age: 44

Religion: Southern Baptist

Base: Tea partiers

Résumé: U.S. senator. Former Texas solicitor general. Former U.S. Supreme Court clerk. Former associate deputy attorney general under President George W. Bush.

Education: B.A. Princeton University. J.D. Harvard Law School.

Family: Married to Heidi Nelson Cruz (2001), with two young daughters. His father is a preacher and he has two half-sisters.

Claim to fame: Cruz spoke on the Senate floor for more than 21 hours in September 2013 to protest the inclusion of funding for Obamacare in a federal budget bill. (The bill moved forward as written.) He has called for the complete repeal of the medical insurance overhaul law, and also for a dismantling of the Internal Revenue Service. Cruz is also outspoken about border security.

Achilles heel: Cruz's father Rafael, a Texas preacher, is a tea party firebrand who has said gay marriage is a government conspiracy and called President Barack Obama a Marxist who should 'go back to Kenya.' Cruz himself also has a reputation as a take-no-prisoners Christian evangelical, which might play well in South Carolina but won't win him points in the other early primary states and couls cost him momentum if he should be the GOP's presidential nominee.

Lindsey Graham South Carolina senator

Age: 59

Religion: Southern Baptist

Base: Otherwise moderate war hawks

Résumé: U.S. senator. Retired Air Force Reserves colonel. Former congressman. Former South Carolina state representative.

Education: B.A. University of South Carolina. J.D. University of South Carolina Law School.

Family: Never married. Raised his sister Darline after their parents died while he was a college student and she was 13.

Claim to fame: Graham is a hawk's hawk, arguing consistently for greater intervention in the Middle East, once arguing in favor of pre-emptive military strikes against Iran. His influence was credited for pushing President George W. Bush to institute the 2007 military 'surge' in Iraq.

Achilles heel: Some of his critics have taken to call him 'Grahamnesty,' citing his participating in a 2013 'gang of eight' strategy to approve an Obama-favored immigration bill. He has also aroused the ire of conservative Republicans by supporting global warming legislation and voting for some of the president's judicial nominees.

Bobby Jindal Louisiana governor

Age: 44

Religion: Catholic

Base: Social conservatives

Résumé: Governor of Louisiana. Former congressman. Former Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Planning and Evaluation. Former Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.

Education: B. Sci. Brown University. M.Litt. New College at Oxford University

Family: Married to Supriya Jolly (1997), with three children, each of whom has an Indian first name and an American middle name. Bobby Jindal's given name is Piyush.

Claim to fame: Jindal's main source of national attention has been his strident opposition to federal-level 'Common Core' education standards, which included a federal lawsuit that a judge dismissed in late March. He is also outspoken on the religious-freedom issues involved in mainstreaming gay marriage into the lives of American Christians.

Achilles heel: JindaDuring his first term as governor, Jindal signed a science education law that requires schools to present alternatives to the theory of evolution, including religious creationism. Similarly, his staunch defense of businesses that want to steer clear of providing services to same-sex couples at their weddings will win points among evangelicals but alienate much of the electorate.

Rick Perry Former Texas governor

Age: 65

Religion: Christian (nondenominational)

Base: Conservatives

Résumé: Former Texas governor, lieutenant governor, agriculture commissioner and state representative.

Education: B.Sci. Texas A&M University

Family: Married to Anita Thigpen (1982) with two afult children. His father was a former Democratic county commissioner in Texas.

Claim to fame: Perry boasts that while he was governor between the end of 2007 and the end of 2014, the Texas economy created 1.4 million new jobs while the rest of the U.S. lost close to 400,000. A Perry-led Texas also had the nation's highest high school graduation rate among Hispanics and African-Americans.

Achilles heel: Perry has a tough hill to climb after his 2012 presidential campaign spectacularly imploded with a single word – 'Oops' – after he couldn't remember one of his own talking points during a nationally televised debate. He also faces an indictment for alleged abuse of power in a case that Republicans contend is politically motivated and meritless.

Marco Rubio Florida senator

Age: 43

Religion: Catholic

Base: Conservatives

Résumé: US senator, former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, former city commissioner of West Miami

Education: B.A. University of Florida. J.D. University of Miami School of Law.

Family: Married to Jeanette Dousdebes (1998), with two sons and two daughters. Jeanette is a former Miami Dolphins cheerleader who posed for the squad’s first swimsuit calendar.

Claim to fame: Rubio's personal story as the son of Cuban emigres is a powerful narrative, and helped him win his Senate seat in 2010 against a well-funded governor whom he initially trailed by 20 points.

Achilles heel: Rubio was part of a bipartisan 'gang of eight' senators who crafted an Obama-approved immigration reform bill in 2013 which never became law – a move that angered conservative Republicans. And he was criticized in 2011 for publicly telling a version of his parents' flight from Cuba that turned out to appear embellished.

Donald Trump Real estate developer

Age: 69

Religion: Catholic

Base: Presbyterian

Résumé: Chairman of The Trump Organization. Fixture on the Forbes 400 list of the world's richest people. Star of 'Celebrity Apprentice.'

Education: B.Sci. Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Family: Married to Melania Trump (2005). Divorced from Ivana Trump and Marla Maples. Five grown children. Trump's father Fred Trump amassed a $400 million fortune developing real estate.

Claim to fame: Trump's niche in the 2016 campaign stems from his celebrity as a reality-show host and his enormous wealth – $8.7 billion, according to Trump. Because he can sef-fund an entire presidential campaign, he is seen as less beholden to donors than other candidates.

Achilles heel: Trump is a political neophyte who has toyed with running for president and for governor of New York, but shied away from taking the plunge until now. His billions have the potential to alienate large swaths of the electorate. And his Republican rivals are already labeling him an ego-driven celebrity and an electoral sideshow because of his past enthusiasm for anti-Obama 'birtherism.'

REPUBLICANS IN THE HUNT

Jim Gilmore, former Virginia governor

Gilmore is no political neophyte, having been Virginia's governor and attorney general. He would also bring military credentials through his service as an Army intelligence agent. He is also a board member of the National Rifle Association and presdient of the Free Congress Foundation, a conservative think tank.

John Kasich, Ohio governor

Kasich is a popular governor in the battleground Buckeye State, but has little name-recognition elsewhere. He has accommodated liberals on some issues and could be seen as a more palatable version of Jeb Bush for Republicans who fear electing a family dynasty.

DEMOCRATS IN THE RACE

Lincoln Chafee Former Rhode Island governor

Age: 62

Religion: Episcopalian

Base: Centrists

Résumé: Former Rhode Island governor. Former U.S. senator. Former city councilman and mayor of Warwick, RI.

Education: B.A. Brown University. Graduate, Montana State University horseshoeing school.

Family: Chafee is married to Stephanie Chafee (1990) with three children. Like him, his father John Chafee was a Rhode Island governor and US senator, but also served as Secretary of the Navy. Lincoln was appointed to his Senate seat when his father died in office.

Claim to fame: While Chafee was a Republican senator during the George W. Bush administration, he cast his party's only vote in 2002 against a resolution that authorized military action in Iraq. Hillary Clinton, also a senator then, voted in favor – giving him a point of comparison that he hopes to ride to victory.

Achilles heel: Chafee's lack of any significant party loyalty has turned allies into foes throughout his political career, and Democrats aren't sure he's entirely with them now. He was elected to the Senate as a Republican in 2000 but left the party and declared himself a political independent after losing a re-election bid in 2006. As an independent, he was elected governor in 2010. Now he's running for president as a Democrat.

Martin O'Malley Former Maryland governor

Age: 52

Religion: Catholic

Base: Centrists

Résumé: Former Maryland governor. Former city councilor and mayor of Baltimore, MD. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.

Education: B.A. Catholic University of America. J.D. University of Maryland.

Family: O'Malley is married to Katie Curran (1990) and they have four children. Curran is a district court judge in Baltimore. Her father is Maryland's attorney general. O'Malley's mother is a receptionists in the Capitol Hill office of Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski.

Claim to fame: O'Malley pushed for laws in Maryland legalizing same-sex marriage and giving illegal immigrants the right to pay reduced tuition rates at public universities. But he's best known for playing guitar and sung in a celtic band cammed 'O’Malley’s March.'

Achilles heel: O’Malley may struggle in the Democratic primary since he endorsed Hillary Clinton eight years ago. If he prevails, he will have to run far enough to her left to be an easy target for the GOP. He showed political weakness when his hand-picked successor lost the 2014 governor's race to a Republican. But most troubling is his link with Baltimore, whose 2016 race riots have made it a nuclear subject for politicians of all stripes.

Jim Webb Former Virginia senator

Age: 69

Religion: Christian (nondenominational)

Base: War hawks and economic centrists

Résumé: Former U.S. senator from Virginia. Former U.S. Secretary of the Navy under Ronamd Reagan. Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs.

Education: B.A. US Naval Academy (transferred from the University of Southern California). J.D. Georgetown University.

Family: Married to Hong Le Webb (2005). Divorced from Jo Ann Krukar (1981-2004). Divorced from Barbara Samorajczyk (1968–1979).

Claim to fame: Webb is the rare Democrat who can bring both robust defense credentials and a history of genuine bipartisanship to the race. He served in Republican president Ronald Reagan's defense directorate as Navy secretary, and earned both the Navy5r Star and the Purple Heart in combat. Webb is also seen as a quiet scholar who has written more than a half-dozen historical novels and a critically acclaimed history of Scots-Irish U.S. immigrants.

Achilles heel: Webb has a reputation as a bit of a quitter. He resigned his Navy secretary post over a budget-cut dispute just 10 months after taking the job, and he dec;lined to run for re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2006. He also attracted bad press for defending the use of the Confederate flag as a heritage symbol for American southerners. Amid a nationwide clamor to remove the flag from the South Carolina statehouse grounds, he wrote that Americans should 'respect the complicated history of the Civil War. ... Honorable Americans fought on both sides.'

Hillary Clinton Former sec. of state

Age: 67

Religion: United Methodist

Base: Liberals

Résumé: Former secretary of state. Former U.S. senator from New York. Former U.S. first lady. Former Arkansas first lady. Former law school faculty, University of Arkansas Fayetteville.

Education: B.A. Wellesley College. J.D. Yale Law School.

Family: Clinton's husband Bill (1975) was the 42nd President of the United States. Their daughter Chelsea is married to investment banker Marc Mezvinsky, whose mother was a 1990s one-term Pennsylvania congresswoman.

Claim to fame: Clinton was the first US first lady with a postgraduate degree and presaged Obamacare with a failed attempt at health care reform in the 1990s.

Achilles heel: A long series of financial and ethical scandals has dogged Clinton, including recent allegations that her husband and their family foundation benefited financially from decisions she made as secretary of state. Her performance surrounding the 2012 terror attack on a State Department facility in Benghazi, Libya, has been catnip for conservative Republicans. And her presdiential campaign has been marked by an unwillingness to engage journalists, instead meeting with hand-picked groups of voters.

Bernie Sanders* Vermont senator

Age: 73

Religion: Judaism

Base: Far-left progressives

Résumé: U.S. senator. Former U.S. congressman. Former mayor of Burlington, VT.

Education: B.A. University of Chicago.

Family: Sanders is married to Jane O’Meara Sanders (1988), a former president of Burlington College. They have one child and three more from Mrs. Sanders' previous marriage. His brother Larry is a Green Party politician in the UK and formerly served on the Oxfordshire County Council.

Claim to fame: Sanders is an unusually blunt, and unapologetic pol, happily promoting progressivism without hedging. He is also the longest-serving 'independent' member of Congress – neither Democrat nor Republican.

Achilles heel: Sanders describes himself as a 'democratic socialist.' At a time of huge GOP electoral gains, his far-left ideas don't poll well. He favors open borders, single-payer universal health insurance, and greater government control over media ownership.

* Sanders is running as a Democrat but has no party affiliation in the Senate.

DEMOCRATS IN THE HUNT

Joe Biden, U.S. vice president

Biden would be a natural candidate as the White House's sitting second-banana, but his reputation as a one-man gaffe factory will keep Democrats from taking him seriously.

Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts senator

Warren is a populist liberal who could give Hillary Clinton headaches by challenging her from the left, but she has said she has no plans to run and is happy in the U.S. Senate.