Had Trump not ran this cycle, who would be the remaining candidates now?

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

So, let's say Trump hyped up a run again and never actually ran and we progressed through the primaries as normal (Bush, Walker, Paul and Huckabee being top 4 nationally as was the case pre-Trump revolution) and we were down to 3-4 candidates as of today, who would be in or how would the primaries  have most likely have happened?

I'm assuming Walker would have won Iowa, Bush would have won NH and Cruz/Huckabee would have won SC and from there I would assume this would end up as a Bush - Cruz - Walker - Paul race if it had turned out the way it was shaping out to be had Trump not got in, these are of course just general assumptions.

[Blue3]

Walker would still have fizzled out, but it would have taken more time and effort. Jeb would be close to the same. Rubio would have the same problems. Christie would still have Bridgegate.

Cruz would probably be the presumptive nominee right now.

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

Walker would still have fizzled out, but it would have taken more time and effort. Jeb would be close to the same. Rubio would have the same problems. Christie would still have Bridgegate.

Cruz would probably be the presumptive nominee right now.

What about Paul? Do you think he'd win any states in this scenario, or fizzle out after NH like IRL?

[Blue3]

Paul had already dampened his supporters' enthusiasm with his compromises, and he doesn't have the same enthusiasm and likeability as his father. Cruz positioned himself close to Paul for a reason, to be able to pick up some of that support. Paul might have lasted until NH and not been quite as miserable, but I don't think he'd have done much better.

[trickmind]

Walker was just waiting to be Pawlenty'd, even without Trump there he still won't manage to stand out at the debates. He would have fizzled out after Iowa.

I expect Carson still has his rise and fall after Paris, he might have had a bigger presence without Trump attacking him.

Bush is still a flawed candidate who in all likelihood still cannot win the nomination. But without Trump there to shine a big spotlight on his weaknesses, he is able to keep the illusion of a good candidate for awhile longer until the voting starts...which hurts Rubio big time, part of what got Rubio good media coverage to start with was Bush's early collapse. He'll still get good coverage after "winning" all those debates, but he will be more diminished.

I generally agree that Cruz would have been the heavy favorite without Trump. The base was gearing up for a fight with the establishment this year with or without Trump, and without Trump Cruz would have been their weapon. He likely takes Iowa in a bigger margin than IRL with Carson in 2nd, Walker in 3rd, and Bush/Rubio in 4th. New Hampshire still would have been a establishment cluster, I think Bush would have won, with Kasich or Christie perhaps nipping at his heels. Cruz wins SC and then NV in landslides and then goes on to romp everyone on ST only losing MA and VT. He dominates in the March 5-8 contests and becomes the presumptive nominee after he wins IL, NC, and MO on March 15, amassing a titanic delegate lead.

[Pragmatic Conservative]

Walker would have fizzled out in the polls like before, his demise had little to do with Trump. I imagine Rubio would have been the biggest beneficiary out of all of this. Cruz would win the south like before, Rubio would win most of the Red and Purple States. Huckabee support goes to Cruz, Carson's trajectory is similar as before. 

here are the results
Iowa-Cruz
NH-Rubio
SC-Cruz
NV-Rubio
AL,GA,AK,TX,OK,AR-Cruz
MN,VT.MA,MN,VA- Rubio
KS,LA,KY-Cruz
Main- Rubio
PR-  Rubio
MI,MS,ID-Cruz
HI- Rubio
Wy-Cruz
DC-Rubio
MO,NC-Cruz
IL,OH,FL-Rubio

[Meclazine for Israel]

Cruz.

Rubio would not have attracted Trumps votes.

Cruz would have benefited massively.

[Santander]

Jeb was basically the 2016 Romney until Trump branded him as low-energy and his campaign went from being Jeb! to Jeb . When it came to issues knowledge, Jeb was the best candidate on either side (even if I disagree with him on most issues) and he had the most money. I'm not sure he could've overcome the Bush factor, but I think he'd at least have made it to Super Tuesday without Trump. Christie is a gifted (lying) politician and he could've won NH if Trump didn't box him out, but I'm not sure if he'd still be around either.