An immense amount of ink has already been spilled about the state of the 2016 presidential race. However, not much journalistic effort of late has been focused on the much more interesting presidential field which is unfolding for the 2024 horse race. For likely the first time in eight years, no incumbent will be running. Nevertheless, some early favorites from each party have emerged as candidates to beat.
The Republican field, while not yet wholly defined, has seen some probable candidates emerge. George Prescott Bush has been lining himself up for the presidency for some time. He has the unique appeal of being both a Bush and a Hispanic, and could potentially greatly improve Republican outreach to minority voters. However, avowed libertarian Ralph Paul is already outflanking him in appeals to younger voters. The third of a Republican dynasty, he too carries on the mantle of a popular political family and has a wide fundraising base. And while not Hispanic, Paul nonetheless touts the five he received on his AP Spanish Language exam his senior year of high school.
Nevertheless, in a recent straw poll among Republican voters, write-in candidate Rob Ford garnered 11 percent of the vote. “A true man of the people,” gushed some Republicans. His eligibility for president, however, is being called into question by some constitutional scholars who claim that Ford was born in Canada, and that Canada, despite popular opinion among the Republican base, is not actually considered a part of the United States.
On the Democratic side, Charlie Crist has emerged as the only extremely successful governor who has the unique distinction of being viewed as a scheming carpetbagger by everyone across the political spectrum. “He’s skeevy,” one noted libertarian said recently. “What a goddamned carpetbagger,” moaned a bonafide liberal. “But hell, what results.” Even Republicans admit as much. “He’s the first governor since Jeb Bush to finally help bring Florida from its previously flaccid self to its full upright potential. But what a scumbag.”
Crist is by no means the runaway favorite, however.
Chelsea Clinton, while having never held an elected office in her life, has a groundswell of popular support. She has the overwhelming support of Democratic women, and has already received the endorsements of Democratic all-stars Bill and Hillary Clinton. Others, though, have expressed concerns that her experiences as a community organizer are not sufficient for the role of the presidency.
Other potential dark horse candidates have emerged. One such candidate is Frodo Baggins. “He is very under-the-radar, which detects things at least five feet tall,” noted one Democratic pollster. “But despite seeming invisible at times, he is in fact immensely involved in venturing into the heart of Washington D.C. in order to destroy the One Ring. And he has the near-unanimous support of the Democratic Council.” One can also reasonably expect three or four Kennedys to run in 2024, seeking to banish the Frost Giants from the nine realms of Camelot and reunify the realms under their leadership.
Naturally, the candidate field for each party is liable to change between now and 2024. Nonetheless, an exciting preliminary field has emerged, and the election is sure to be a close and exciting one. Whatever the identity of each nominee, the election will be an incredibly important one, sitting at a crossroads in American history and sure to affect the future path of the nation for decades to come.
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