USA Today released the second week of their Republican presidential power rankings–and the top three contenders have something very telling in common.
Among the three of them, they have a combined zero years of political experience. All of the candidates in the top three are political outsiders, who have never held an elected position before.
Businessman Donald Trump remains in first place from last week’s rankings.
Close behind is Dr. Ben Carson, a pediatric neurosurgeon and political commentator, who remains in second place from last week as well.
Meanwhile, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, Carly Fiorina–who shot up three positions from 6th place, is in third.
While these rankings aren’t scientific–they take poll numbers into account, but they’re mostly a subjective analysis of the current strength of the candidate and how the electorate sees them–it’s extremely telling that, out of all the 17 candidates running for President, it’s the three political outsiders who are getting the most traction.
While the mainstream media and the establishment wrote off Donald Trump initially as a flash in the pan, it’s clear he’s tapped into something deeper–a massive majority of the Republican Party, if not the nation, who are fed up with Washington politics. Even if Trump falters as the primary season continues onward, clearly there’s a strong second and third choice for the outsider vote at the moment.
Meanwhile, mainstream political candidates continue to fall down the list.
USA Today’s full list is below:
1. DONALD TRUMP (LAST WEEK: 1)
2. BEN CARSON (2)
3. CARLY FIORINA (6)
4. JEB BUSH (4)
5. TED CRUZ (5)
6. MARCO RUBIO (3)
7. JOHN KASICH (8)
8. SCOTT WALKER (7)
9. MIKE HUCKABEE (9)
10. RAND PAUL (10)
11. CHRIS CHRISTIE (11)
12. BOBBY JINDAL (13)
13. RICK SANTORUM (12)
14. RICK PERRY (14)
15. LINDSEY GRAHAM (15)
16. GEORGE PATAKI (16)
17. JIM GILMORE (17)