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Cruz Is Running, So Who's Next?

by Jacqueline Derks

The man who made Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham famous on the Senate floor, Ted Cruz, is now running for president. Officially. Now, everybody in the Republican field is toying with the idea of being president. But so far, Cruz is the only one legitimately running, so who'll be next to announce a presidential campaign?

We know that Rand Paul will announce his presidential run, if he chooses to, on April 7 in Louisville. (OK, so we know he's actually running, pretty much.) In the days after, he's planning a roadshow in New Hampshire, South Carolina, Iowa, and Nevada, presumably to gain traction in early primary states and to jumpstart fundraising.

Michael Karem, who's affiliation with Republican presidential campaigns dates back to Ronald Reagan, commented to The Washington Times why it's taking Paul longer to announce his campaign:

It takes a significant campaign war chest and logistical planning and know-how to design and execute a three-state announcement tour.

Other potential 2016-ers might also want to jumpstart their campaign with a bang and are waiting for a more convenient time to run. Paul's announcement will come at a good time for him — Congress is on recess from Mar 30 to April 10, so he won't have to work. Other sitting senators like Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham could, possibly announce an official launch during this time period too. We've also got sitting governors pondering a run — Chris Christie and Scott Walker.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images News/Getty Images

It's a little harder to predict just when they might decide if they'll officially join the presidential horse race. They don't have any breaks, so no time will exactly be convenient for either of these guys to hit the campaign trail. They have jobs, and any extra-curricular activities will likely be worked around that.

Folks like Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, and Rick Perry can take their time in formalizing a campaign. They're basically unemployed — not a sitting governor or senator like a lot of the other candidates in the race. So if they do mount a campaign, it'll be their full-time job. But Perry has indicated that he will decide if he wants to be president by May or June.

The exact timetable of when each candidate will announce whether they are in or out is largely contingent upon their current place of employment, or lack thereof. There also comes the advantage of spacing out an announcement to attain maximum media traction, but also making sure an announcement doesn't come too late. And so we continue to wait...

Image: Getty Images (1)