It is a truth universally acknowledged that while the Republicans have too many candidates for 2016, the Democrats have too few. If Hillary Clinton doesn’t run or her presidential campaign implodes, the thinking goes, her party has no bench, no backup, no Plan B.
The list of Democrats who have publicly suggested they might run is indeed skimpy. But it’s misleading to compare the depth of the two parties simply by counting the number of self-declared possible candidates. Every Republican who ever looked in the mirror and saw a president is hinting at a run, hoping to generate press, test the reaction and even begin to build momentum. For GOP-ers, there’s no downside to being talked about as a potential candidate. But not many A-list Democrats are mounting the same kind of PR campaign.
Several Democratic strategists, pollsters and party insiders interviewed for this article were eager to refute the idea that the party has no bench, and to suggest names of pols who could be viable 2016 candidates. But they didn’t want their own names attached to this article and refused to be quoted on the record. No one wants to be seen as encouraging someone to run against Clinton.
That same fear appears to be keeping potential candidates quiet as well. Very few in Democratic circles are willing to alienate the Clintons. The couple has built a massive political operation. They command the loyalty of hundreds of donors and bundlers. An endorsement from the Clinton family can tip the scales for a candidate. And the Clintons are known to hold grudges. Bill Clinton remained angry for years that Ted Kennedy and Caroline Kennedy backed Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton in 2008.
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