The Republican Battle Will Come Down to These Two Men

With the frost now promising snow, politicos anxiously look to Iowa and New Hampshire– the first proving grounds of the 2015 presidential primary elections. The campaign season has been anything but conventional. Early wisdom held the Republican contest would come down to two, Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin and former Governor Jeb Bush of Florida.

Bush was a thoroughbred, we were told; experienced, seasoned, and well connected through his family’s political ties. Jeb was to be the reasonable, more likable Bush. Many believed him to be the presumptive nominee. Those who didn’t likely saw Scott Walker as a formidable candidate. The man’s record in Wisconsin for taking on public unions and righting the state’s economic ship had many picking him as the grassroots conservative to take on Bush.

But this has been the year of the outsider, as pundits observe. Donald Trump, Carly Fiorina, and Ben Carson, have turned presumptions of their heads. If Trump did nothing else, he damaged the Bush campaign beyond any hope of recovery. Now it’s a wide-open contest.

However, when one looks at the condition the candidates’ campaigns are in currently, polling, and the debate performance from Wednesday night, people are starting to make a safe bet.

The National Review offers this conclusion, one I have reached myself: the battle on the right will ultimately come down to these two men:

Cruz is a firebrand that excites conservatives and has libertarian appeal. Rubio is a capable, more moderate man which establishment backers will gravitate towards. Rubio likely delivered a death knell to Jeb Bush at the last debate, where Cruz brought to crowd to a roar by standing up to the moderators.

These two men will likely be the last standing on the right. And, as the National Review writes, that wouldn’t be so bad:

If the final days of the GOP primary fight should in fact end up being a Rubio–Cruz contest, that would be an excellent thing: Republicans would be considering an all-Latino presidential field as a result of ideas, talent, and gumption rather than phony diversity rhetoric and affirmative action. Either man would provide a dramatic contrast to Hillary Rodham Clinton, who regards the presidency as a personal entitlement and who carries in her train more baggage than Louis Vuitton. Cruz-Rubio/Rubio-Cruz: One’s a little bit country, the other a little bit EDM — and the GOP could do a hell of a lot worse than either.