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The contest has begun to determine who will be the Republican candidate to square off against President Obama in 2012 national elections.
At present, the field though not complete, includes three former governors (Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Jon Huntsman); a former senator (Rick Santorum); the former speaker of the House of Representatives (Newt Gingrich); two current members of Congress (Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul); and a businessman (Herman Cain).
At this point, Romney - who also ran for president in 2008 - holds a lead over the current field.
However, the fact he was a moderate Republican governor and is a Mormon makes some conservatives and right-wing evangelical Christians uncomfortable.
The rest of the group is flawed with most polls showing the Republican faithful appear dissatisfied with the choices before them.
Even with this incomplete field of candidates, it was interesting to tune into CNN's Republican presidential debate last week.
What came through quite clearly was how far to the right the GOP has drifted.
This rightward drift came into sharp focus in responses to two questions asked during the debate.
An audience member asked the candidates for assurance they would "have a balanced approach to governing to solve our serious problems".
Each of the candidates who responded focused on burnishing their ideological credentials and paying homage to the Tea Party.
This, of course, can become a problem for today's Republican Party. There is no question that the Tea Party and its fervid opposition to the president and his agenda energised Republicans, helping them regain control of Congress in 2010.
Emboldened by their success, the Tea Party has continued to flex its muscles, threatening to be the "kingmakers" in the Republican primaries.
Hence, the candidates are loathe to distance themselves from this moment. But while the presidential primaries, like mid-term Congressional contests, are notoriously low turnout elections drawing support from the "fired up" party faithful, presidential elections are a different story.
In these contests, more moderate and independent voters often determine the outcome.
It may very well be that in the process of ingratiating themselves with the groups they need to win the primaries, Republicans will damage their ability to compete in the November 2012 general election.
Another disturbing example of this Republican drift toward extremism came in response to a question about whether or not the candidates would be comfortable having a Muslim American serve in their administration.
The question first went to Cain, who had on a previous occasion indicated that he would "not be comfortable with a Muslim".
In response, he elaborated on his views saying his concern with Muslims was prompted by the concern that they "are the ones trying to kill us" and weirdly inserting that he did "not believe in Sharia law".
He then went on to insist that he would single out Muslims for a pledge of loyalty to the US before considering them for government service.
Gingrich chimed in, adding that he believed that a loyalty oath for Muslims seeking to work in government was a good idea because "we did this in dealing with Nazis and ...with the communists ...we have got to have the guts to stand up and say no".
While Bachmann, Pawlenty and Santorum were not asked to respond to this question, they have all been on the record making equally shameful comments about Muslims and raising fears about Sharia law.
Only Romney, already on the defensive over his Mormon faith, offered a constructive comment.
After paying lip-service to the anti-Sharia law mindset, saying that "we're not going to have Sharia law applied in US courts", he added: "We recognise that people of all faiths are welcome in this country. Our nation was founded on a principle of religious tolerance."
What was especially disturbing about this particular exchange was the silence of GOP leaders in the days that followed the debate.
Their refusal to condemn these displays of bigotry and intolerance only adds to the concern that the party is courting extremist currents and, as a result, has continued on a dangerous rightward drift.
jzogby@aaiusa.org
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