GOP Primaries: Your Predicted Top Three Only

[Rockefeller GOP]

Okay, so pretend the Republican primaries were held all on one day (so momentum isn't a factor, states' voters simply pick which candidate they like best), and only the "top three" (picked by a poll of something, I don't know) could run.  Which three 2016 candidates do you think we'd see, and who do you think would win each state?  Discuss with your own map.

Here's my preliminary guess:

Red = Christie
Blue = Paul
Green = Cruz

[MATTROSE94]

Red: Scott Walker
Blue: Rand Paul
Green: Ted Cruz

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Mike Pence
Scott Walker
Rand Paul

[GOON]

Rand Paul
Chris Christie
Mike Huckabee

[MATTROSE94]

I decided to change mine around a bit and add a 4th candidate:

Red: Christie
Blue: Paul
Green: Cruz
Yellow: Walker

[Phony Moderate]

Someone will win a lot of the early contests and therefore sweep most of the subsequent ones. It won't be a close three or four way thing.

[MadmanMotley]

Blue: Rand Paul
Red: Mike Pence
Green: Jeb Bush

[7,052,770]

Blue - Christie
Green - Cruz
Red - Paul

Trying to keep the primary schedules in mind.

[5280]

Red - Christie
Blue - Rand Paul
Green - Ted Cruz

[spacecoyote]

1.) Rick Perry: I think he runs to repair his image from last time. Doesn't upset any major GOP constituency (unlike Paul, Christie, Bush), governor, and an unapologetic conservative who Republicans could envision being elected if he does OK in the debates (unlike Cruz, Carson, etc.) .
2.) Chris Christie: Really this could be any of the moderate or unoffensive governors being suggested. Not sure who among them will actually run. Could grab nomination if the conservatives fizzle or stay fractured.
3.) Rand Paul: Definitely seems to be running. Expands upon his father's coalition but in the end he has too many positions that taken together upset too many groups in the GOP. Ceiling is 25%.

[Chilltown]

The top three will be Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and a boring Midwestern governor who will probably clinch the nomination unless Rand Paul fizzles early.

If a national primary was held on some random day without any campaigning/organizing, Rand Paul would probably crush everybody in most states, since the Paul people are the only ones remotely organized enough to go to the polls on their own, which makes the question kind of pointless, because we know that isn't going to happen.

I suspect how the primary will go will be Rand Paul/Ted Cruz winning Iowa, Nevada and SC, but with base enthusiasm, votes, $$$ split, the boring Midwesterner steamrolls over both of them.

Another possibility is Rand Paul fizzling out early, and Ted Cruz would probably win the whole thing in that case.

[Simfan34]

Blue - Christie
Green - Cruz
Red - Paul

Trying to keep the primary schedules in mind.

Only map in the thread that makes sense.

[NHI]

Blue - Christie
Green - Cruz
Red - Paul

Trying to keep the primary schedules in mind.

Only map in the thread that makes sense.

Second.