The Pragmatic and the Desperate

February 1, 2012

Dissecting how Republicans choose their presidential candidates.

Article by John Grant, Postdoctoral fellow, Department of Political Science, University of Toronto

Published January 30, 2012, The Mark

In the lead-up to the season of Republican presidential primaries, armchair and paid commentators worked hard to explain the huge fluctuations in candidates’ popularity. The standard answers look at the candidates themselves. Herman Cain’s unexpected success was undone by his personal life. Rick Perry looked like a sure front-runner until he was exposed by compellingly substandard debate performances. Michele Bachmann’s victory in the Iowa straw poll turned out to be her one high point. And so on. What get left out are the all-important hopes and psychologies of Republican primary voters. These factors provide three missing explanations about the rise and fall of so many candidates… Continue reading at The Mark.