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[h=4]USA TODAY GOP Power Rankings: Carson and Fiorina fading[/h]2016 begins with some outsider candidates finding themselves out of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the picture in USA TODAY's weekly GOP Power Rankings.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>
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Week 19 results for USA TODAY’s GOP Power Rankings.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: AP)
2016 begins with some outsider candidates finding themselves out of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the picture in USA TODAY's weekly GOP Power Rankings.
Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina tallied their worst scores this week since we started this survey Sept. 1, asking 30 political experts who is the strongest candidate in the GOP field.
Carson is still in sixth place, as he was last week, but the gap between him and Jeb Bush in fifth place has grown from a sliver to gulf. Carson's point total is closer to Rick Santorum's in 11th place than Donald Trump's in first.
As the campaigns ramp up in the sprint to the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primaries, the GOP field appears to have separated into two categories:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Five serious contenders and a bunch of long shots.
Carson held first place in our survey briefly at the end of October, but he drifted downward as the year closed and several top staffers left his campaign over the past couple of weeks, leaving a sense of disarray.
"Carson staff shakeup comes awfully late and suggests deep trouble on the ground," said Todd Spangler of the Detroit Free Press.
"The complete personnel meltdown for Carson unmasked a deeply troubled campaign that needs to be high-functioning, not dysfunctional, at this stage," said digital consultant Phil Musser. "He'll continue to fall."
Californian Carly Fiorina also had a bad holiday season, highlighted by her New Year's Day tweet backing the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Rose Bowl game over Stanford, which generated a whirlwind of criticism on social media.
"Poor Fiorina can't even cheer for her own alma mater's team in the Rose Bowl. People think she cursed Iowa," said former congressman Dan Maffei. "I am not sure if it's latent sexism or her own lackadaisical campaign but she is nearly out of it."
Trump and Ted Cruz dominate our rankings again this week, and Kansas activist Deb Lucia explains why: "Trump continues to hold the lead with his brutally honest language, something that you either love or hate. Cruz has gained the respect of those who've heard his message and I believe will continue to rise in the polls."
If there is an "insider" and an "outsider" lane going forward in the GOP nominating race, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie and Jeb Bush appear to be the most serious contenders for the "insider" lane.
"The Jeb Miracle must be to survive Iowa<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in fifth or so, do well in New Hampshire<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and South Carolina<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and then win NV, where he has beefed up his staff," said Nevada journalist Jon Ralston. "Hard to see it, but not impossible. Rubio is the favorite of many, but needs to find a lane. Christie is all in for N.H. The rest might as well be silent."
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In USA TODAY's GOP Power Rankings, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz lead the pack while previously strong candidates like Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina are losing popularity. VPC
WEEK 19 RANKINGS
[h=2]1. Donald Trump (Last Week: 1)[/h][h=2]2. Ted Cruz (2)[/h][h=2]3. Marco Rubio (3)[/h][h=2]4. Chris Christie (4)[/h][h=2]5. Jeb Bush (5)[/h][h=2]6. Ben Carson (6)[/h][h=2]7. John Kasich<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(7)[/h][h=2]8. Rand Paul (9)[/h][h=2]9. Carly Fiorina (8)[/h][h=2]10. Mike Huckabee (10)[/h][h=2]11. Rick Santorum (11)[/h][h=2]12. Jim Gilmore (13)[/h]Week 1<span style="color: Red;">*</span>|<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Week 2<span style="color: Red;">*</span>|<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Week 3
Week 4<span style="color: Red;">*</span> |<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Week 5<span style="color: Red;">*</span>|<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Week 6
Week 7<span style="color: Red;">*</span>|<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Week 8<span style="color: Red;">*</span>|<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Week 9
Week 10<span style="color: Red;">*</span>|<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Week 11<span style="color: Red;">*</span>|<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Week 12
Week 13<span style="color: Red;">*</span>|<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Week 14<span style="color: Red;">*</span>|<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Week 15
Week 16<span style="color: Red;">*</span>|<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Week 17<span style="color: Red;">*</span>| Week 18
Participants in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>USA TODAY's GOP Power Rankings:
Kristen Soltis Anderson, Republican pollster and author of The Selfie Vote
Henry Barbour, Republican strategist, Mississippi
Paul Brathwaite,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>principal, Podesta Group
Dianne Bystrom, director, Center for Women and Politics, Iowa State University
Herman Cain, talk show host and former GOP presidential candidate
Maria Cardona, Democratic strategist and CNN Commentator, The Dewey Square Group
Frank Donatelli, former RNC deputy chairman and Reagan advisor
Sara Fagen, partner, DDC Advocacy
Peter Fenn, Democratic political strategist, Fenn Communications
Denise Feriozzi, deputy executive director, EMILY’s List
Karen Floyd, CEO, The Palladian Group and former South Carolina GOP chair
Aaron Ghitelman, communications manager, HeadCount
Andra Gillespie, polling analyst and political science professor, Emory University<span style="color: Red;">*</span>
Nathan L. Gonzales, editor, The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report
Lilly J. Goren, political science and global studies professor, Carroll University
Doug Gross, Iowa attorney and previous Republican gubernatorial nominee
O. Kay Henderson, news director, Radio Iowa
Ken Khachigian, senior partner, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
Carl Leubsdorf, Washington columnist, The Dallas Morning News
Deb Lucia, Topeka 912 – the Capital City Tea Party
Matt Mackowiak, Republican consultant and president, Potomac Strategy Group, LLC
Dan Maffei, former Democratic congressman, New York
Phil Musser, chairman, IMGE digital media agency
Margie Omero, Democratic pollster, Purple Insights
Jon Ralston, host, "Ralston Live" on PBS affiliates in Nevada
Craig Robinson, founder and editor, TheIowaRepublican.com
Alan Rosenblatt, Ph.D., Sr. VP of digital strategy, turner4D
Dante Scala, political science professor, University of New Hampshire
Adam Sharp, head of news, government and elections, Twitter
Alex Smith, national chairman, College Republicans
Todd Spangler, Washington correspondent, Detroit Free Press
Kathy Sullivan, DNC committeewoman and former Democratic Party chair, New Hampshire
Special thanks to the Palladian Group for building our survey platform.
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