Old vs. new the fundamental fight in 2016 GOP race

[Valin]

Washington Examiner:

Byron York

March 2, 2015

 

Talking 2016 with Republican activists around the country, it's hard to overstate how hungry many of them are for a presidential candidate who is new. They didn't want Mitt Romney to come back for another run. They don't want someone who ran in 2008 or 2012. And many of them count former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in the old category, not because Bush himself has run before but because his family has been running for president since 1980.

 

But all that yearning for newness will collide with the Republican Party's traditional respect for order and succession. In the past, the GOP has made a habit of nominating the man who seems to be next in line for the job. Often that is the candidate who finished second the last time, which is by definition not someone new.

 

One place where the conflict is already playing out is the key early primary state of South Carolina. In a new poll of Republican base voters conducted by Clemson University political scientist David Woodard, Bush leads the field, although very narrowly, while Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has shot up from out of nowhere to a virtual tie for the lead.

 

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But those are the voters who want something new. Just as strong among South Carolina Republicans are those who value order and succession. For them, backing Jeb Bush is a natural progression from their earlier support of George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.

 

That's especially true in the donor class. "I would say there is a sense of loyalty of people who contributed to George H.W. and George W.," says Barry Wynn, a former South Carolina state party chairman. "I don't think I've talked to anybody who was involved in those financial efforts who's not ready to saddle up again for Jeb. I don't see any of them giving any money to Rubio, Walker, and the new class."

 

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