Presidential Power Rankings: September 2015

The late, great Yogi Berra offers his inspiration for this month's power rankings. The Yankees catcher always seemed to know just what to say, and in this seemingly endless electoral season, one of the his greatest quotes comes to mind: "It ain't over till its over."

Go here to find the guidelines for the rankings. Basically, we rank according to polling data, fundraising levels, and Vegas odds. Also, it's important to remember that these are predictions about who could win, not necessarily who should win...
​1. Hillary Clinton (D) - raised $47.5 million for campaign ($20.3 million in SuperPACs)

"It's deja vu all over again."

Her poll numbers may be taking a tumble, but Clinton still dwarfs her closest democratic competition in fundraising and betting odds.
2. Donald Trump (R) - $2 million ($0 from SuperPACs but has a personal fortune of between $3 and $10 billion)

"He hits from both sides of the plate. He's amphibious."

His immigration plan calls for deporting 12 million illegal immigrants but building a "big beautiful door" for those he wants to let back into the country. Trump's tax plan calls for cutting taxes on both the rich and the poor, but he has made promises to increase taxes on hedge fund managers. Despite a poorly reviewed recent debate, Trump still stays high in the rankings because of his musings on running as a third party candidate.
3. Jeb Bush (R) - $11.4 million ($103.2 million in SuperPACs)

"Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded."

The polls aren't kind to the 3rd member of the Bush family to run for president, but his incredible war chest and good Vegas odds keep the former Governor of Florida as a solid contender.
4. Dr. Ben Carson (R) - $10.6 million ($7 million in SuperPACs)

"The future ain't what it used to be."

If it weren't for Trump, Dr. Carson would have the 'outsider' label all to himself. However, he is leading in Iowa and money is pouring into his campaign after his recent remark that he would not vote for a theoretical Muslim candidate for president.
5. Marco Rubio (R) - $9.8 million ($17.3 million in SuperPACs)

"When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

The Power Rankings committee was extremely bullish on both Scott Walker's and Marco Rubio's chances of becoming the Republican nominee for president. We were proved terrible wrong about Walker, as he quit the race this month after losing almost all of his support. However, Rubio seems to be on the rise. His poll numbers are up, his fundraising is solid, and his debate performances have been heralded by establishment Republicans and more conservative voters.
6. Bernie Sanders (D) - $16.4 million ($25,044 in SuperPACs)

"A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore."

The polls say Sanders should be higher in these rankings. He has big leads in Iowa and New Hampshire and is closing within single digits in nationwide polls. However, since we haven't yet had a single Democratic debate, we'll wait to propel Sanders any higher until he shares the stage with the establishment candidates.
7. Carly Fiorina (R) - $2.1 million ($3.5 million in SuperPACs)

"It was impossible to get a conversation going, everybody was talking too much."

No one has been helped more by the first 2 debates than former HP CEO Carly Fiorina. She jumped to the main debate in Simi Valley and scored points against front runner Donald Trump's sexism. Then she spoke the most repeated line of the debate, a much-debated comment about the Planned Parenthood scandal. How these debate performances will translate into donations and support will tell how high Fiorina could rise.
8. Ted Cruz (R) - $14.3 million ($38.6 million from SuperPACs)

"There are some people who, if they don't already know, you can't tell them."

Cruz has the money behind him but he hasn't been able to translate that into growing support in the polls so far. His efforts to shut down the government over the Planned Parenthood scandal may also have taken a hit with the sudden resignation of Speaker of the House John Boehner.
9. Joe Biden (D) - $0 ($85,000 in SuperPACs)

"Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical."

In the past couple of months, we've reserved this spot for some unnamed Democratic challenger to Hillary Clinton. Today, we're officially recognizing the Vice President as the Democrat most likely to make a splash (though he hasn't yet actually announced his candidacy). He's been through the emotional ringer with the recent loss of his son Beau to brain cancer, but the mere potential of his running has already given him 17% of the vote in New Hampshire.
10. John Kasich (R) - fundraising unknown ($11.1 million in SuperPACs)

"You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six."

The former governor of Ohio is making a play at being an establishment Republican alternative to Jeb Bush. He's also bound to be on any candidate's short list of VP choices due to his influence in that important swing state. If a few more candidates drop out of the race, you might be seeing a lot more of him...

Not on the list...

Scott Walker (R)

"You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours."

Way to make us look bad, Governor Walker. Last month, Walker sat at #4 in the power rankings, and today he's back at the state house in Madison watching the rest of the game on TV. Let his fate be food for thought the next time you see polling data--less than 3 months ago, he was in first place among Republican voters; now he's done.