Those who place the blame on a string of uninspiring candidates are already grousing about the front-runner, Tom Reilly.
"I've been with a lot of them," Mr. Young, 66, said, wearily ticking off a string of Republican candidates as if they had been disappointing blind dates.
A string of possible candidates came and went before, in spring 2004, negotiations began with a state-owned Chinese carmaker, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation.
The presidential candidates are also bringing something to politicians like Mr. Rangel, who has chafed as a member of the minority party in Washington for several years and who many Democratic officials say needs a big win after picking a string of losing candidates for mayor and governor.
While Mr Romney has remained the frontrunner, the party's religious conservatives have sought out a string of alternative candidates, fearing his record in the relatively liberal state of Massachusetts suggests he is too willing to compromise on issues such as abortion or healthcare.
And this was only the latest of a string of successes for candidates supported by the tea-partiers.
John R. Reilly, a close adviser to a string of Democratic presidential candidates since the Kennedy years, and particularly to his longtime friend Walter F. Mondale, died Sunday in Washington.
FreedomWorks spent nearly $40 million on the 2012 elections but backed a string of losing Senate candidates, including Richard E. Mourdock of Indiana, Josh Mandel of Ohio and Connie Mack of Florida.
And it does matter, even to social conservatives, who have flirted with a string of more charismatic candidates like Mr. Perry, Mr. Cain, Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and former Speaker Newt Gingrich.
DES MOINES, Aug. 19 — In this presidential election season, there have been debates piled upon debates, a string of opportunities for candidates to be sized up alongside one another.
