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The 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries and caucuses were a series of electoral contests that took place within all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories between February 1 and June 7, 2016. Sanctioned by the Republican Party, these elections selected the 2,472 delegates that were sent to the Republican National Convention. Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie won the Republican nomination for president of the United States.
A total of 15 major candidates entered the race. Former vice president Paul Ryan emerged as an early front-runner and won the Iowa caucuses. Christie, who had consistently polled second behind Ryan through 2015, narrowly won the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries, presenting a significant challenge to Ryan's candidacy. Decisive victories in Super Tuesday cemented Christie's front-runner status. From March 17, 2016, to May 3, 2016, only three candidates remained in the race: Christie, Ryan, and Senator Ted Cruz. Christie won 20 of the next 29 contests. Without any further chances of forcing a contested convention, Ryan suspended his campaign and Christie was declared the presumptive Republican nominee by Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus on May 3. Christie's victory over Ryan is considered one of the biggest primary upsets in U.S. history.
On July 19, 2016, Christie and his running mate, Senator Kelly Ayotte from New Hampshire, were officially nominated as the Republican presidential and vice presidential candidates at the Republican National Convention. Bush and Ayotte went on to lose the general election to incumbent president Tim Kaine.
Background[]
Incumbent president John McCain successfully sought renomination by the Republican Party in 2012. Hindered by low approval ratings and concerns about his age and fitness for office, McCain's candidacy was challenged by businessman Herman Cain and U.S. representative Joe Walsh. McCain lost the 2012 election to Democratic opponent Tim Kaine, becoming the first president to seek reelection and lose since Henry M. Jackson in 1972. Speculation immediately began about vice president Paul Ryan's presidential aspirations;
Candidates[]
Fifteen major candidates were listed in major independent nationwide polls and filed as candidates with the Federal Election Commission. A total of 2,500 delegates attended the 2016 Republican National Convention, and the winning candidate needed a simple majority of 1,237 votes to become the Republican nominee.
Nominee[]
| Candidate | Born | Experience | State | Campaign announced | Pledged delegates | Popular vote | Contests won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
September 6, 1962
(age 54) Newark, New Jersey |
55th
Governor of New Jersey (2010–2018) United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey (2002-2008) Member of the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders (1995-1997) |
New Jersey | June 30, 2015 | 1,304 | 12,645,534
(49.6%) |
33
(AL, AZ, AR, AS, CA, CT, DA, DE, FL, GU, ID, IN, MD, MA, MI, MS, MO, MT, MP, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OR, RI, SC, SD, TN, VA, VI, VT, WA, WV) |
Withdrew during the primaries[]
The following individuals participated in at least two presidential debates. They withdrew or suspended their campaigns at some point after the Iowa caucuses on February 1, 2016. They are listed in order of exit, starting with the most recent.
| Candidate | Born | Experience | State | Campaign announced | Campaign suspended | Delegates won | Popular vote | Contests won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
January 29, 1970 (age 46)
Janesville, Wisconsin, U.S. |
Vice president of the United States
(2009-2013) U.S. Representative from WI-1 (1999-2009) |
Wisconsin | April 13, 2015 | May 4, 2016
(endorsed Christie as presumptive nominee) |
889 | 5,026,408
(31.8%)
|
24
(AK, CO, DC, HI, IL, KS, KY, LA, ME, MN, NV, OK, PA, UT, WI, WY) |
| Ted Cruz | December 22, 1970
(age 46) Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
U.S. Senator from Texas
(2013–2019) 3rd Solicitor General of Texas (2003-2008) |
Texas | March 23, 2015 | April 13, 2016
(endorsed Christie as presumptive nominee) |
427 | 4,380,155
(15.06%) |
1
(TX) |
 |
April 6, 1956 (age 56)
Waterloo, Iowa, U.S. |
U.S. Representative from MN-6
(2007-2015) Member of the Minnesota Senate (2001-2007) |
Minnesota | June 16, 2015 | February 10, 2016
(endorsed Christie) |
196 | 2,077,240
(8.1%) |
0 |
 |
May 13, 1952
(age 64) McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania |
69th Governor of Ohio
(2011-2019) United States Representative from OH-12 & OH-15 (1983-2001) Member of the Ohio Senate (1979-1983) |
Ohio | July 21, 2015 | Mar 17, 2016
(endorsed Ryan) |
71 | 600,092
(2.34%) |
1
(OH) |
 |
September 18, 1951
(age 65) Detroit, Michigan |
Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery,
Johns Hopkins Hospital (1984–2013) |
Maryland | May 4, 2015 | March 2, 2016
(endorsed Christie) |
9 | 207,724
(0.8%) |
0 |
| Jim Gilmore | October 6, 1949
(age 67) Richmond, Virginia |
68th
Governor of Virginia (1998–2002) 38th Attorney General of Virginia (1994-1997) |
Virignia | July 30, 2015 | February 12, 2016
(endorsed Christie) |
0 | 16,627
(0.06%) |
0 |
| Rand Paul | January 7, 1963
(age 53) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
U.S. Senator from Kentucky
(2011–present) |
Kentucky | April 7, 2015 | February 10, 2016
(endorsed Christie as presumptive nominee) |
4 | 143,612
(0.56%) |
0 |
| Carly Fiorina | September 6, 1954
(age 62) Austin, Texas |
CEO of Hewlett-Packard
(1999–2005) Candidate for United States Senate in 2010 |
California | May 4, 2015 | February 10, 2016 | 0 | 33,328
(0.13%) |
0 |
| Rick Santorum | May 10, 1958
(age 58) Winchester, Virginia |
U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania
(1995–2007) U.S. Representative from PA-15 (1991-1995) |
Pennsylvania | May 27, 2015 | February 3, 2016
(endorsed Ryan) |
0 | 12,822
(0.05%) |
0 |
Withdrew before the primaries[]
| Candidate | Born | Experience | State | Campaign announced | Campaign suspended | Delegates | Popular vote | Contests won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Pataki | June 24, 1945 (age 71) | 53rd Governor of New York
(1995-2006) Member of the New York State Senate from the 37th district (1993-1994) Member of the New York State Assembly from the 91st district (1985-1992) Mayor of Peeskill (1981-1984) |
New York | May 28, 2015 | December 29, 2015
(endorsed Christie) |
0 | 2,036 | 0 |
| Lindsey Graham | July 9, 1955
(age 61) |
U.S. Senator
from South Carolina (2003-present) U.S. Representative from SC-03 (1995-2003) Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from the 2nd district (1993-1995) |
South Carolina | June 1, 2015 | December 21, 2015
(endorsed Christie) |
0 | 5,666 | 0 |
| Bobby Jindal | June 10, 1971
(age 45)
|
55th Governor of Louisiana
(2008-2016) U.S. Representative from LA-01 (2005-2008) |
Louisiana | June 24, 2015 | November 17, 2015
(endorsed Ryan, then Christie) |
0 | 222 | 0 |
| Scott Walker | November 2, 1967 (age 49) | 45th Governor of Wisconsin
(2011-2019) 5th Executive of Milwaukee County (2002-2010) Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 14th district (1993-2002) |
Wisconsin | July 13, 2015 | September 21, 2015
(endorsed Christie) |
0 | 1 | 0 |
| Rick Perry | March 4, 1950
(age 66) |
47th Governor of Texas
(2006-2019) 39th Lieutenant Governor of Texas (1999-2006) 9th Agriculture Commissioner of Texas (1991-1999) Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 64th district (1985-1991) |
Texas | June 4, 2015 | September 11, 2015
(endorsed Christie) |
0 | 1 | 0 |
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Declined to be candidates[]
The following people were the focus of presidential speculation in multiple media reports during the 2016 election cycle but did not enter the race or publicly ruled out presidential bids.
- Kelly Ayotte, U.S. Senator from New Hampshire (endorsed Christie, who chose her as his running mate)
- John Bolton, former U.N. Ambassador
- Herman Cain, businessman, presidential candidate in 2012 (endorsed Christie)
- Mitch Daniels, former Governor of Indiana
- New Gingrich, former Speaker of the House of Representatives (endorsed Christie)
- Nikki Haley, Governor of South Carolina (endorsed Ryan)
- Darrell Issa, U.S. Representative from California
- Peter King, U.S. Representative from New York
- Steve King, U.S. Representative from Iowa (endorsed Christie)
- Susana Martinez, Governor of New Mexico (endorsed Ryan)
- Cathy McMorris Rodgers, U.S. Representative from Washington
- Sarah Palin, former Governor of Alaska
- Ron Paul, former U.S. Senator from Texas, presidential candidate in 2000, 2004 and 2008 (endorsed Rand Paul)
- Mike Pence, Governor of Indiana
- Rob Portman, U.S. Senator from Ohio (endorsed Kasich)
- Mike Rogers, former U.S. Representative from Michigan
- John Thune, U.S. Senator from South Dakota
- Donald Trump, businessman, New York gubernatorial candidate in 2000, (endorsed Christie)