The campaign for the Presidency: Who's in, who's out

By the CNN Staff

(CNN) -- And then there were 11.

With former New York Gov. George Pataki ending his bid for the Presidency, the crowded Republican field of wannabe leader of the free world got some breathing room -- but not by much.

More candidates remain than you can count on two hands.

Here's a list of who's in and who's out on the Republican side. (And below that, how the Dems are faring):

IN

Jeb Bush: He served two terms as Florida governor from 1999-2007. After opting not to run for president in both 2008 and 2012, Bush announced he is running for president on June 15, 2015.

Ben Carson: The prominent and well-respected physician only recently strayed into the political arena. His politically charged comments at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast made him a conservative media darling.

Chris Christie: Christie successfully ran for governor of New Jersey in 2009, defeating Gov. Jon Corzine in the largely Democratic state. Christie was re-elected by a large margin in 2013.

Ted Cruz: Cruz was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012, after he rallied conservative and tea party support in Texas, and has since been one of the Senate's most vocal critics of Obamacare. On March 23 he became the first Republican candidate to announce a campaign for the presidency.

Carly Fiorina: Widely known from the corporate world at such companies as AT&T and Hewlett-Packard, Fiorina ran for the U.S. Senate in 2010 in California, losing to incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer. Still an advocate for conservative causes, Fiorina ruled out another run for the U.S. Senate in California before declaring she'd run for president.

Mike Huckabee: Huckabee became the Arkansas governor in 1996, when Gov. Jim Guy Tucker was convicted on federal fraud and conspiracy charges. Huckabee was elected to the office in 1998 and again in 2002. He was able to pull out a surprise victory in the 2008 Iowa caucuses as a contender for the GOP presidential nomination, but he failed to garner significant support thereafter. Huckabee announced his 2016 candidacy in May.

John Kasich: After a nine-year stint in the private sector, Kasich ran a successful campaign for governor of Ohio in 2010, when he defeated Democratic incumbent Gov. Ted Strickland. He was re-elected by a wide margin in 2014. He declared his run for president in July.

Rand Paul: Paul gained national attention by riding the 2010 tea party wave to become the junior U.S. senator from Kentucky following a tough battle in the GOP primary. The Republican was the second candidate to declare his entrance into the 2016 presidential race, in April.

Marco Rubio: Rubio, the first Cuban-American speaker of the Florida House, won the 2010 U.S. Senate election in Florida over then-Gov. Charlie Crist, who ran as a political independent. He became the third Republican to jump into the 2016 fray in April.

Rick Santorum: Santorum served two terms in the U.S. Senate but was defeated in his bid for a third term in 2006. He ran for president in 2012, emerging from relative obscurity to win the Iowa caucuses.

Donald Trump: Trump, real estate mogul, discussed a potential presidential run for the 2000, 2008 and 2012 elections, but he had never run for any elected office. Trump announced his 2016 presidential campaign in June.

OUT

Lindsey Graham: Graham was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1992 before he ran successfully at the national level for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994 and for the U.S. Senate in 2002. He ended his campaign earlier this month.

Bobby Jindal: Jindal was elected governor of Louisiana in 2007, becoming the first Indian-American governor in U.S. history. He easily won re-election in 2011 but has declined to run for a third term. He announced his candidacy in the 2016 presidential election in June, and bowed out in November.

George Pataki: Pataki served three terms as New York's governor, including during the September 11, 2001, attacks. After speculation that he would run for President in 2008 and 2012, Pataki entered as a 2016 candidate in May. He exited Tuesday.

Rick Perry: Perry left office as Texas governor in January 2015 and declared his presidential run in June. He announced he was dropping out in September.

Scott Walker: In 2012, Walker became the only U.S. governor in history to win a recall election, following his effort to limit collective bargaining power for public sector employees. He won re-election in 2014, and in July, he declared his run for president. In September, he quit the race.

NOTE:

Jim Gilmore: Gilmore was elected governor in 1997 and served until 2002. Gilmore was a contender during the 2008 presidential election, and in July, he filed paperwork to run for president in 2016. While he has not dropped out of the race, he has not qualified for a debate or campaigned often in key states to be included in the list.

And here's how the field looks for the Democrats:

IN

Hillary Clinton: The former first lady, ran in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries . After losing the Democratic nod to Barack Obama, she was later secretary of state. Clinton announced her second presidential bid in April.

Martin O'Malley: O'Malley was elected mayor of Baltimore and served until 2006, when he won his campaign to be the 61st governor of Maryland. O'Malley jumped into the race to the White House in May.

Bernie Sanders: After spending 16 years in the House, Sanders won election to the U.S. Senate in 2006 and is the longest-serving Independent member of Congress.

OUT

Lincoln Chafee: Chafee became an independent after losing re-election to the Senate in 2006 and was elected governor of Rhode Island in 2010. Partway through his term, Chafee switched to the Democratic Party. Chafee declared he would run for president on the Democratic ticket in June. He ended his long-shot bid in October.

Lawrence Lessig: Lessig has headed efforts to change the role of money in politics, organize a national constitutional convention and march against political corruption. Lessig launched a presidential campaign for the Democratic nomination on September 9, 2015. He dropped out in November.

Jim Webb: Webb, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a Marine, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006 and served one term. In July, he announced his Presidential run. In October, he announced his departure.

TM & © 2015 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

Share this article: