The 2016 U.S. Presidential Race: A Cheat Sheet

By Published on December 21, 2015

Make sure you’re sitting down before you read this, but: Lindsey Graham is not going to be president.

The South Carolina senator announced during an interview with CNN Monday morning that he will drop out of the race, eschewing the public speeches other Republicans have used to depart. It’s a fitting end to Graham’s campaign, which began somewhat nonchalantly and never really made it onto the radar polling-wise.

It was a strange campaign all along. There was the time Donald Trump gave out Graham’s personal phone number. There was the time Graham responded by making a video in which he destroyed flip phones in baroque manners. There was the time Graham felt compelled to tell stories about his romantic past in response to a series of questions implying he was gay. There was the time he promised to have a “rotating first lady.”

But there was never much chance Graham was going to win the nomination. While he’s extremely hawkish on foreign policy, his willingness to work with Democrats and his moderation on issues like immigration reform guaranteed that many Republicans would never vote for him. He also didn’t have the fundraising base to compete, and didn’t cultivate it; even in South Carolina he struggled. That allowed him to take an outsider’s role in the race, criticizing his rivals and telling bold truths, or at least what he took to be bold truths. (Ironically, Senator Rand Paul — the least interventionist Republican candidate on foreign policy, has adopted a similar role.)

Graham’s departure brings the Republican field down to 13 contenders. With so many candidates in the mix, it’s tough to keep track of it all. To help out with that, this cheat sheet on the state of the presidential field will be periodically updated throughout the campaign season. Here’s how things look right now.

Read the article “The 2016 U.S. Presidential Race: A Cheat Sheet” on theatlantic.com.

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