The Washington Free Beacon’s Ellison Barber appeared on Fox News’ Happening Now to discuss Republican prospects for the 2016 Presidential election.
Host Jon Scott pointed out that criticism is often drawn over the inexperience of a potential presidential candidate, but Barber countered that several rising Republican stars, including Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio, will have more experience than President Obama did when he ran in 2008.
Obama only ran with two and a half years of experience under his belt when he ran, whereas Rubio previously served in the state legislature and was Speaker of the House in Florida. Quality of time, not quantity of time, is what matters, Barber stressed. Voters care most about what a nominee accomplished during his or her term, not how many terms he or she served.
GOP presidential hopefuls should be aware that name recognition rather than a lengthy career in office will boost them over their opponents. Barber used Orrin Hatch as an example. He has served for 37 years, but lacks name recognition, whereas Rand Paul has only served for a short period, but has universal name recognition.
Asked if 2016 is a wide open election, Barber told Scott, "I really think it is amongst the Republicans- absolutely."