Megyn Kelly's Endorsement Is Anyone's Guess

Fox News host Megyn Kelly may not be in the business of endorsing presidential candidates, but given her self-proclaimed status as a registered independent and her past notably non-Fox talk with Republican bigwigs like Karl Rove, it could get interesting. That doesn't mean she's a shoe-in for Hillary, though, either. Who she'd vote for is anyone's guess — except when it comes to Donald Trump. It's a safe bet to say that's not going to happen.

As of this weekend, she actually has yet another reason not to endorse Trump. On Thursday, Kelly will co-host another debate with the Republican candidates, the New York real estate developer very prominently among them. In his latest attack on Kelly — via Twitter, per usual — Trump has said she shouldn't be allowed to host because of "conflict of interest and bias."

Not to fear, though, debate fans, she's not going anywhere. You will get to see her take Trump on again. Her rematch with the Donald was confirmed by Fox, who said she'll be there. "Megyn Kelly has no conflict of interest. Donald Trump is just trying to build up the audience for Thursday's debate, for which we thank him," Fox News said in a statement released Saturday.

So, Trump's out. But among the other candidates? Everyone seems to think she has no agenda of her own in the presidential race. She said as much herself during an interview this summer. Kelly made headlines in June during her sit-down interview with Variety.

"I'm an independent," she says, noting that she has voted for both Democratic and Republican candidates. She believes that her lack of political ideology actually makes her a more effective reporter. "I'm not rooting for anybody," she says. "I'm a Fox News anchor, and I have no horse in the race. I can give anyone a hard time."

Among the Republicans, the obvious choices — as far as polling goes — would be Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio. I would throw Jeb Bush into the ring — just because he's not so far right when she seems to lean to the middle — but I sense that in her mind, he's out. She was asking him what it would take for him to drop out as far back as October.

Cruz, the Texas senator, got some flack from Kelly after some Trump-like trolling of debate moderators. He said that only Republicans should be allowed for primary debates and she questioned him, "Would we have to submit our voting records to you?" On Twitter, she hasn't had much to say about Cruz and her most recent tweet mentioning him, questioned Cruz's ability to take on Trump — although it's attributed to fellow Fox News anchor Howard Kurtz.

Rubio, on the other hand, seems to be getting a little better treatment. On her show following Russia's missile attacks in Syria — that largely targeted non-ISIS rebels — Kelly told Rubio, "Senator, you nailed it!" He had predicted a similar attack about two weeks before. She also defended Rubio and his right to call Hillary Clinton a liar on Benghazi.

On Twitter, she hasn't tweeted much about Rubio, either, but she did send out an update on Rubio being the winner of the Value Voters Summit according to Frank Luntz, the CEO of media strategy company Luntz Global. And she did tweet a few of his more eloquent quotes on the future of America.

So she seems a little warmer towards Rubio, but the real question is if she'd consider voting for a Democrat. Bernie Sanders is too progressive for her self-described middle-of-the-road voting record, but what about Clinton? In her Variety interview, Kelly said she'd love to sit down and interview Clinton, surmising that Clinton could take her on:

"I think Hillary Clinton could handle me — easily," Kelly says on a recent afternoon in her Manhattan office. "That would be epic television," she muses. "Here she is, this powerful woman talking to somebody who is also a woman in a powerful post, who would never be accused of giving her a pass. Right? But I respect Hillary Clinton, and all that she's achieved."

But would she vote for her? Her coverage of Clinton, specifically regarding Benghazi, has been pretty hostile. On Twitter, Kelly has tweeted much more about Clinton than Cruz or Rubio, but her latest batch focus on more emails set to be released — and how they may reveal sensitive information about "deep cover assets."

Maybe it's an attempt to fit in, or maybe it's her way of showing she likes a candidate, but it doesn't give the impression that an endorsement — or vote — is headed her way. Rubio may have it, but if there's one thing we know about Kelly, she's hard to predict.