Here’s something to pass the time overnight. Assuming that Barack Obama is reelected, who do you think will be the major contenders for the Democratic and Republican nominations for president in 2016?
The Democrats have two heavyweights in Vice-President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but both will be somewhat old to be first-term presidents. Biden would turn 74 shortly after election day and Sec. Clinton would turn 69 just before election day. By way of comparison, Ronald Reagan was 69 when he was elected president and he was suffering from mild dementia by the end of his second term.
Still, Biden and Clinton are both in good health and not currently showing any signs of slowing down. I’d be surprised if both of them declined to run. But who else do the Democrats have?
The top of the list must include the insanely popular governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo. I think Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia also must be considered as a strong possibility. Both Cuomo and Warner will be able to raise the kind of money they need to run a real campaign.
Feel free to offer some ideas on who else might run, but I’m really only interested in people who have the connections to actually compete.
On the Republican side, there are actually no obvious candidates. If Romney loses the election in November, his political career is done. And I can’t see any of the people who ran against him this year actually running again. Jeb Bush will be 63 years-old, so he could make a run at restoring the Bush name. Chris Christie will only be 54, so he could definitely be in the mix. It’s possible that Mitt Romney’s running mate might be elevated enough by the experience to have a shot at the nomination. I can’t see any Republicans who currently serve in Congress getting much traction, but perhaps one of their governors (other than Christie) might be compelling.
One thing that stands out is that the Democrats have a much deeper bench. Who do you think will be a candidate?
