1. Chris ChristieChristie is the only Republican I think I would put down as "Somewhat Unfavorable" if asked what I thought of the all the candidates, and that's really only in relation to the rest of the field. I think what I said when I did
one of these lists a month ago still stands; he's the type of politician who will say whatever he needs to to gain prominence and get elected. Even so, I think he is legitimately the least extreme of all the Republicans running, and I think he has more of a commitment to democracy than the rest of the jokers on that stage. When Trump wins, I think he's the least likely to endorse him too. On the Democratic side, Biden and Williamson are still miles away better candidates than Christie can ever hope to be.
2. Nikki HaleyHaley has done a lot of work to build her status as a deeply conservative but intelligent and pragmatic politician. The only real thing I remember her for during her time as governor was taking down the confederate flag in South Carolina and, more recently, she's been a vocal proponent for continuing to support Ukraine. But she's made no attempt to run as a moderate, which means I need to believe that that's something she will legitimately change during the general election, which itself is a dangerous assumption to make.
3. Tim ScottThere's not a lot that stands out to me about Scott, which - in a field like this - is a positive. That's really it, he seems like he knows what he's talking about when he speaks and doesn't stand out as someone that would put undermining America at the top of his legislative agenda.
4. Mike PencePence is an extremist, but at least he has some real bona fides around upholding the democratic process. That's a very, very low bar, but it's better than where the rest of the field finds themselves. On the other hand, I think Pence is probably the most personally opposed to LGBTQ rights, but all the Republicans are so close together on that that I can't shift him any farther down this list.
5. Donald TrumpTrump and everyone below him are beyond what I'll call my "West Line." If the General Election was between someone like Kennedy (who I'd still stick at dead last on a list like this) and any of these Republicans, I would easily cast a protest vote for Cornel West or some other third-party that better fit my beliefs rather than vote for one of the major parties. Trump's presidency was awful, his priorities were awful, and a second term would be even more awful. Yet, somehow, he's still not the worst person on this list. He does not have the long history of dedication to extremest causes that some of his opponents have nor was policy of any kind the priority for him while in office. He is, in many ways "the devil you know."
6. Ron DeSantisI stick by my assessment of DeSantis that I had last time: he hasn't done a single thing that I can remember being positive. His record of terrible policy in Florida is something the rest of the candidates can only dream of. It seems like Desantis uses every possible opportunity to do some new, awful thing.
7. Vivek RamaswamyThe only positive attrubute I can give to Ramaswamy is that he seems like a genuine person in a way that a lot of the other candidates just can't seem to emulate. That's it. Ramaswamy's views of policy - both domestic and foreign - are atrocious.
Everyone else is part of my "literally who" tier. Even among the no-chance candidates, they don't have any presence. I think Burgum is the only candidate capable of escaping this tier given his pool of resources, but even his physical presence at the debate was forgettable. If he does become a real candidate, I'd probably stick him second, after Christie, but I'd stick a lot of unserious candidates there too if I was forced to rank them all on this list.
