After the results of the first two election battles in this U.S. presidential campaign season, the crowd has begun to thin out.
After the Iowa caucus and before the New Hampshire primary, Governors Mike Huckabee and Martin O’Malley dropped out.
And now, with disappointing results in Tuesday’s primary, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and Carly Fiorina, the former head of Hewlett-Packard, both called it quits.
Look for still more to fall by the wayside as the intense primary season proceeds full steam. While the frontrunner Donald Trump, followed by Gov. John Kasich, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush are all probably in the running for quite a bit longer, it won’t come as surprise to political viewers if neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson soon calls it quits unless he gets a top tier showing in the next few primaries.
The South Carolina Republican primary will take place on Feb. 20, with Democratic contenders Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders going head to head in South Carolina the following Sturday, on Feb. 27. That same week are the Nevada contests, with Democrats voting on Feb. 20 and the Republicans just a few days later on Feb. 23.
March 1 will be a huge day, with more than a dozen contests scheduled, including Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. By the time that is over, the pecking order should be quite a bit clearer.
The contests will continue right up until the District of Columbia primary on Tuesday, June 14.