Caras nuevas

En una entrevista al Washington Post, el Senador Jim DeMint predijo este fin de semana que con la campaña más avanzada surgirán nuevos candidatos, cree que gobernadores.

(...) “If no one is an immediate frontrunner, I think you might see a whole new cast of Republican candidates in the next few months ... there are a number of names bubbling around, particularly governors who have realized that doing some basic common sense things tends to inspire Americans.” (...)

Y Chris Cillizza se ha puesto a indagar en la lista de gobernadores republicanos:

(...) Of the 25 Republican governors, 20 of them were elected or appointed in 2009 and 2010. That relative newness makes it difficult — rhetorically and organizationally -- for any of the 20 to quickly pivot to a presidential race.

The obvious exception to that rule is New Jersey’s Chris Christie who, in less than two years on the job, has emerged as a straight-talking superstar for Republicans nationally. While Christie has repeatedly said he is not ready to make a run for president, there are still many in the party who believe — hope may be a more accurate word — that Christie will reconsider if the field appears weak by the summer.

We’ve written before that if he ran, Christie would occupy an obvious slot in the field as a tea-party aligned economic conservative, a profile that would obviously appeal to DeMint who would have occupied similar space in the race had he chosen to pursue a bid.

It still seems an unlikely prospect, however. One plugged-in Republican operative suggested that there is a “10 percent” chance that Christie runs.

Beyond Christie, the only other potential candidate who could immediately step into the race with a real following is Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker who endeared himself to Republicans nationwide with his stand-off against organized labor earlier this year. But having just weathered that traumatic political moment, it’s hard to imagine Walker moving into the presidential field.

Other newly-elected governors with bright futures at the national level — South Carolina’s Nikki Haley, Nevada’s Brian Sandoval, New Mexico’s Susana Martinez,Pennsylvania’s Tom Corbett — seem content to let their stars rise more slowly.

So, if you assume that none of the newest governors will run, you are left with five people: Govs. Rick Perry (Texas), Mitch Daniels (Ind.), Bobby Jindal (La.), Dave Heineman (Neb.) and Butch Otter (Idaho) — all of whom were elected in 2007 or earlier.

Neither Heineman nor Otter have any sort of national profile. Jindal is actively running for a second term this November, making it impossible for him to simultaneously put the pieces of a presidential bid together. Perry is intriguing but might struggle with being viewed as the second coming of George W. Bush. Plus, Perry’s 2010 campaign manager Rob Johnson and longtime political consigliere Dave Carney have signed on with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign, moves that suggest the Texas governor isn’t likely to be a surprise late entrant into the race.

That leaves Daniels, who has been actively considering the race for months. Daniels keep his own counsel — a rarity in politics — and so no one really knows what he is thinking about the race. But, from his own public pronouncements as well as those from his wife, we do know that Daniels’ family is not entirely on board — to put it kindly — with the idea of a national bid. Daniels has also been pilloried of late by social conservatives for his now infamous call for a “truce” on social issues. (...)