The 2016 U.S. presidential race is shaping up to be extremely competitive, particularly for GOP candidates. In recent weeks, we've seen the addition of many new contenders for both major political parties - including Jeb Bush, Martin O'Malley, and even Donald Trump. Of course, each candidate will soon be looking to get their respective party's nomination, and this will require front-runners to have strong support from fellow politicians.

I concluded last month's column by promising to provide a fresh angle on the branding of the presidential candidates. I will keep that promise, but since they are still pouring into the ring -Jeb Bush, who entered yesterday, is number 15- I will wait another month or two.

It's approaching summer vacation time. While we are getting ready by stocking our coolers and tossing beach chairs into the back of our SUVs, a few politicians are starting to wake up to the fact that it's nearly crunch time. This is especially true among the 19 or so hopefuls seeking relevancy in the Republican Party. The home team media outlet has already drawn a line in the sand to cut the field to ten for the debates. Candidates understand that there are only eight months until the first primaries, and the challenge for too many of them is finding …

Campaigning is a balancing act of consistent messaging, not being caught off-guard by adversarial campaigns, and effectively attacking from a position of strength all while constantly appealing to constituents. All this happens in a very fluid environment of news events, October surprises and changing tides of consumer opinion.