--- title: Here's What Each Republican Candidate Has Said About 2016 description: Here's what each of the possible Republican presidential candidates has said about whether or not they're going to run. canonical: https://time.com/3614418/republican-candidates-2016/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-03T16:53:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T02:30:55.150Z article:section: Politics og:title: Here's What Each Republican Candidate Has Said About 2016 og:description: Here's what each of the possible Republican presidential candidates has said about whether or not they're going to run. og:url: https://time.com/3614418/republican-candidates-2016/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57f408461f97e609/69876410a988ca23e76aa301/rand-paul.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Georgia Senate Candidate David Perdue Campaigns With Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's What Each Republican Candidate Has Said About 2016 twitter:description: Here's what each of the possible Republican presidential candidates has said about whether or not they're going to run. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57f408461f97e609/69876410a988ca23e76aa301/rand-paul.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's What Each Republican Candidate Has Said About 2016  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Dec 3, 2014 4:53 PM UTC  Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) speaks to an audience of supporters of Georgia Senate candidate David Perdue during a campaign stop in McDonough, Ga. on Oct. 24, 2014. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) speaks to an audience of supporters of Georgia Senate candidate David Perdue during a campaign stop in McDonough, Ga. on Oct. 24, 2014.Jessica McGowan—Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Dec 3, 2014 4:53 PM UTC The Republican candidates for the 2016 presidential election are in a weird in-between spot right now, not ready to say they’re running but clearly moving closer every day. They’re choosing to handle it in very different ways, from all-but saying they’re running to pretending that they haven’t given it much thought. Here’s a look at what the candidates have said. **I’m Thinking About It** **Ben Carson:** “Maybe.” ([NBC](http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/dr-ben-carson-2016-maybe-n258486)) **Bobby Jindal:** “Thinking and praying” about running. ([POLITICO](http://www.politico.com/story/2014/10/bobby-jindal-2016-election-111633.html)) **I Would Be Great, Though** **Chris Christie:** “I am convinced that the next president of the United States is going to be a governor—and needs to be.” ([National Journal](http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/chris-christie-previews-2016-campaign-it-s-time-to-start-offending-people-20141021)) **John Kasich:** “This is not just another election, another political campaign, this is a movement to restore hope in our state and maybe it can even become contagious with hope being restored all across the United States of America.” — gubernatorial victory speech ([CNN](http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1411/04/bn.08.html)) **I Haven’t Decided** **Rand Paul:** “He is 100 percent running for reelection to the U.S. Senate. He has not made any decision on whether he will run for national office or not.” — senior adviser Doug Stafford ([POLITICO)](http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/rand-paul-kentucky-senate-campaign-2016-113261.html) **Scott Walker:** “The closer I’ve gotten to this position, the more I’ve realized that anyone who really wants to be president has to be a little crazy … The only way you should run is if you feel called to.” ([POLITICO](http://www.politico.com/story/2014/11/scott-walker-2016-113050.html)) **I’ll Decide Soon** **Jeb Bush:** A decision will come “in short order, not that far out in the future… Can I do it where the sacrifice for my family is tolerable?” ([POLITICO](http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/jeb-bush-2016-elections-113247.html)) **Marco Rubio:** “That is a decision I will make in the coming weeks along with my family because it requires a whole series of things.” ([Tampa Bay Times](http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/rubio-says-hell-make-presidential-decision-in-weeks/2205559)) **Rick Perry:** “May or June would be my guess when I’ll made a decision on whether I’m going to go forward.” ([KVUE](http://www.kvue.com/story/news/politics/2014/11/10/perry-insists-hes-months-away-on-2016-decision/18835793/)) **Mike Huckabee:** “I’ve said very clearly that it is on the table… Sometime in the spring of next year I’ll make a decision.” ([Newsmax](http://www.newsmax.com/US/Mike-Huckabee-2016-presidential-run-midterm-elections/2014/09/24/id/596655/)) **Paul Ryan:** “If \[Romney\] were to run, I would not. But I don’t even know if I’m going to either myself. That’s something I’m going to decide in 2015.” ([Huffington Post](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/30/paul-ryan-mitt-romney-2016%5Fn%5F5907468.html)) **I’m Moving Forward** **Rick Santorum:** “I’m doing everything right now as if I’m running. So we’re moving forward and trying to line up supporters — both grassroots and donors.” ([Real Clear Politics](http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/10/15/santorum%5Fgearing%5Fup%5Fas%5Fif%5Fim%5Frunning%5Fin%5F2016%5F%5F124302.html%20)) **Ted Cruz:** “At this point it’s 90/10 he’s in. And honestly, 90 is lowballing it.” — a Cruz staffer ([National Journal](http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/ted-cruz-banks-on-foreign-policy-as-his-2016-differentiator-20140928)) **Actually, I’m Not Running** **Mitt Romney:** “The answer is no, I’m not running for president in 2016.” ([CNN](http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/02/05/romney-on-2016-the-answer-is-no/)) **Rob Portman:** “I’m interested in staying in the Senate.” ([TIME](http://time.com/3613426/ohio-senator-rob-portman-presidential-bid/)) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3614418/republican-candidates-2016/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3614418/republican-candidates-2016/"},"headline":"Here's What Each Republican Candidate Has Said About 2016","datePublished":"2014-12-03T16:53:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:30:55.150Z","description":"From \"I don't know\" to \"I'm not running\"","url":"https://time.com/3614418/republican-candidates-2016/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic","campaign","Republican"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57f408461f97e609/69876410a988ca23e76aa301/rand-paul.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57f408461f97e609/69876410a988ca23e76aa301/rand-paul.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Georgia Senate Candidate David Perdue Campaigns With Sen. 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