article: If only there was a simple way to compare their strengths and weaknesses... Who's got the most campaign money? Who really electrifies a crowd? What is their Achilles heel? All your questions are answered - on a candidate card, so you can test the powers of one against the other. Trump has been tops for so long it's hard to remember what the Republican race was like before he emerged on the scene. The New Yorker has thumbed his nose at political convention, embraced controversial positions that would be radioactive for other candidates, dominated the headlines and kept his opponents perpetually off balance. He appeals to disaffected Republicans across the board, whether they're evangelicals, grassroots Tea Party supporters or even moderates. It's been an incredible run - but can it hold up once voting starts? He's shown a thin skin and flashes of a temper that, if repeatedly provoked, could eventually prove his undoing. Dismissed when he launched his campaign last March, Cruz has cruised to the top of the Republican pack thanks to a gift for rhetoric and a campaign strategy that has taken advantage of the anti-establishment mood among conservatives. He's formed a seemingly unlikely coalition of religious voters, libertarians and Tea Party activists. To win, however, he'll have to fend off attacks from Republican colleagues who overwhelmingly dislike what they see as his me-first attitude. Rubio looks like a winner. He's charismatic, he has a compelling story as a child of Cuban immigrants, he's generally well-liked by the Republican establishment, and he's run a largely error-free campaign. That probably explains why every candidate not running as an outsider has done everything they can to tear him down. Rubio is distrusted by grassroots conservatives, however, for his leadership on the 2013 immigration reform efforts that have since become politically toxic. He's the second choice of many Republicans, but he'll have to find an opportunity to break away from his mainstream competitors or risk falling too far behind someone like Trump or Cruz. Many Republicans practically begged Christie to run against Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination in 2012. That was before he became mired in scandal in New Jersey and turned many conservatives against him for seeming to be too supportive of Barack Obama. In 2016 his brash, straight-talking New Jersey style has been one-upped by Trump and his limited resources have forced him to set up camp in New Hampshire in the hope that a win there will surge him into national viability. He has solid political-street-fighting abilities, however, so in a crowded, rough-and-tumble battle for the mainstream Republican vote, he could still claw his way to the top. Bush once was the man to beat. His huge campaign war chest and solid support within the party deterred Mitt Romney from entering the race and hampered other establishment candidates. He's proven to be a paper tiger, however. After nearly a decade out of public office, his political instincts seem dulled. He's constantly fumbled with his words, leaving him overmatched against more skilled debaters. His depth of knowledge on policy
summary: Eleven Republican candidates are doing battle for the White House and after months of campaigning their first electoral test, in Iowa, is just days away.