Speculation about the 2016 presidential election reached Capitol Hill today at the monthly gathering Conservations with Conservatives, where lawmakers sounded off about the current field of candidates possibly vying for the Republican nomination next year.
With a variety of presidential hopefuls spanning the Republican Party’s ideological spectrum, Rep. Raúl Labrador of Idaho told reporters he’s excited about all prospective candidates who have garnered attention.
“We have wonderful governors, wonderful senators, we have good people out there that are doing the right thing, that are leading in their states, leading in the Senate and in other areas. I think we could have a better field of candidates [than Democrats],” Labrador told reporters.
Former governors Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Jeb Bush of Florida announced earlier this month their intents to explore presidential bids. For Romney, who won the Republican nomination three years ago, 2016 would mark his third time running for president. Bush, meanwhile, would be the third of his family to seek the presidency, following his father, George H.W. Bush and his brother, George W. Bush.
Other prospective candidates include Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas, and Govs. Mike Pence of Indiana and Scott Walker of Wisconsin, among others.
The Republican presidential field spans the right’s ideological spectrum, with the “establishment” wing of the party represented by Romney and Bush, and conservatives finding allies in Walker, Paul, Rubio and Cruz.
Rep. Daniel Webster of Florida, who challenged House Speaker John Boehner for the chamber’s top spot, spoke of the responsibility the now GOP-controlled has in setting the stage for the Republican nominee in 2016.
“We will set the stage of who wins the elections,” @RepWebster said of the 2016 presidential election.
“We will set the stage of who wins the election,” he said. “Not necessarily what happens with the candidate or who is the candidate. We can hurt them by not proving to the American people that we are leaders. We can help them by showing the American people the Republicans can lead this country and the House and the Senate in a way that produces good policy and principle-based government with a member-driven process.”
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