Conservative pundits on Trump, week by week.

Introducing the Conservative Pundit Tracker: Where 25 Commentators Stand on Trump, Week by Week

Introducing the Conservative Pundit Tracker: Where 25 Commentators Stand on Trump, Week by Week

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May 13 2016 4:29 PM

Introducing the Conservative Pundit Tracker

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Ever since Donald Trump became the presumptive GOP nominee, we and others in the media have been paying close attention to which Republican politicians are lining up behind Trump (Mike Huckabee), which rushed to distance themselves (George, George, and Jeb Bush), and which are scratching their heads and trying to buy time (looking at you, Paul Ryan).

But what about the conservative media? From Breitbart’s over-the-top enthusiasm to National Review’s “Against Trump” issue, opinions on Trump’s suitability, tolerability, and electability run the gamut.

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So, from now until November, we’re tracking 25 prominent conservative pundits to see who they are saying they will vote for, week to week, and where they end up. We’re following veterans like Charles Krauthammer and #NeverTrump leader Bill Kristol, fresh young voices like Guy Benson and Katie Pavlich, newspaper columnists and Federalist bloggers, as well as radio hosts and television commentators.

Each week we’ll publish a new chart showing where these 25 pundits stand on the question of Trump, and you’ll be able to look back at past weeks to see any movement. Our categories are “Voting Trump,” “Voting Clinton,” “Not Voting,” “Someone Else,” and “Inscrutable.” Someone else means either a third party candidate or a write-in. Inscrutable includes pundits who have voiced opposition to both Trump and Clinton, but are otherwise undecided, and those who are sharply critical of Trump but haven’t stated a preferred alternative. Will the Inscrutables pull it together come November? Will anyone else jump on the Hillary train? Will more pundits coalesce around a third-party candidate? Or will everyone eventually fall into line for Trump between now and Election Day? Keep an eye on this weekly tracker to find out.

Correction, May 16, 2016: A passage in the interactive quoting Michelle Malkin misspelled the first name of Kris Kobach.

Rachael Larimore is the online managing editor of the Weekly Standard and a former Slate senior editor.

Andrew Kahn is Slate’s assistant interactives editor. Follow him on Twitter.

Holly Allen is a Slate web designer.