That pool of voters becomes enormously important in a very tough race where we know that 65 to 70 percent of registered Republicans are going to turn out. I always figure that every presidential primary has two major parts. One is the part that the rest of the world sees, from about the time all candidates are announced until the primary. That s what we might call the visible primary. But right now, we re in what most people call the invisible primary, which probably started even before the last presidential election concluded.
People size people up.
Rath expects a crowded field of contenders for the presidential nomination. There will be a lot of lookers. There probably will be six or seven Republicans at the end of the filing period who are serious about it, with four or five Democrats. Well, I ll jump in in a geographical region that s more comfortable. You have to get in early to have any chance at all, so that might mean that it s a little more crowded.