Democratic Party presidential candidates, 2016

Democratic Party presidential candidates, 2016

November 8, 2016

2016 U.S. presidential election
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This article contains lists of candidates associated with the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries for the 2016 United States presidential election.

Candidates

Individuals included in this section have taken one or more of the following actions: formally announced their candidacy; filed as a candidate with Federal Election Commission (FEC) (for other than exploratory purposes). They are listed alphabetically by surname.

Candidates featured in major polls

The following candidates have been listed in five or more major independent nationwide polls.

Hillary Clinton Secretary of State 2009-2013, U.S. Senator from New York 2001-2009 (Website) (FEC filing)		Main article: Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016 Clinton announced her candidacy on April 12, 2015.[1][2]
Bernie Sanders U.S. Senator from Vermont since 2007, U.S. Representative from Vermont 1991-2007 (Website)		Main article: Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, 2016 Sanders announced his candidacy on April 30, 2015.[3]

Other candidates

• Jeff Boss 9/11 Truther and perennial candidate from New Jersey
• Robby Wells Former head football coach at Savannah State University; Candidate for the 2012 presidential nomination of the Constitution Party

Potential candidates

The individuals listed below have been identified by reliable media sources as potential candidates for president in 2016. They are listed alphabetically by surname.

Formally exploring a candidacy

Those following potential candidates have taken formal action(s) - such as the formation of an exploratory committee, political action committee (PAC), or a 527 organization - to build the groundwork for a possible presidential campaign.

• 

  Lincoln Chafee, Independent-turned-Democratic Governor of Rhode Island 2011–2015; Republican U.S. Senator from Rhode Island, 1999–2007; formed an exploratory committee^[1][2][3]

• 

  Martin O'Malley, Governor of Maryland 2007–2015; Mayor of Baltimore 1999–2007; formed a PAC^[4][5][6]

• 

  Jim Webb, U.S. Senator from Virginia 2007–2013; U.S. Secretary of the Navy 1987–1988; formed an exploratory committee^[7][8][9]

1. ^ Schreckinger, Ben (April 16, 2015) "Lincoln Chafee is officially running for president. ... Or is he?", Politico. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
2. ^ Kamisar, Ben (April 19, 2015) "Chafee won't let Clinton forget Iraq", The Hill. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
3. ^ Merica, Dan (April 24, 2015) "As Democrats' 2016 dark horse, Chafee separates himself by taking on Hillary", CNN. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
4. ^ Plotkin, Mark (March 20, 2015) "Can O'Malley pull a Carter '76 in 2016?", The Hill. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
5. ^ Miller, Jake (April 14, 2015) "Martin O'Malley's new fundraising vehicle: YouTube", CBS News. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
6. ^ Foley, Elise (April 19, 2015) "Martin O'Malley Says Executive Experience Would Make Him A Better President Than Hillary Clinton", The Huffington Post. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
7. ^ Miller, Jake (March 5, 2015) "Could Jim Webb pose a threat to Hillary Clinton in 2016?", CBS News. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
8. ^ Ballhaus, Rebecca (March 10, 2015) "Jim Webb Ramps Up Careful Approach to 2016", The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
9. ^ Merica, Dan (March 17, 2015) "Webb hires Iowa coordinator for would-be 2016 bid", CNN. Retrieved March 17, 2015.

Publicly expressed interest

As of April 2015, the following potential candidates have expressed interest in running for president within the past three months.

• 

  Joe Biden, Vice President of the United States since 2009; U.S. Senator from Delaware 1973–2009; presidential candidate in 1988 and 2008^[1][2][3]

• 

  Paul Strauss, Shadow Senator from the District of Columbia since 1997^[4][5]

1. ^ Clark, Lesley (April 10, 2015) "What about Joe?", McClatchy DC. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
2. ^ Gaudiano, Nicole (April 14, 2015) "Biden says he's in no rush to decide on presidential race", USA Today. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
3. ^ Dovere, Edward-Isaac (April 17, 2015) "Joe Biden’s still biding", Politico. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
4. ^ Bowman, Bridget (February 19, 2015). "Shadow Senator Visits Iowa, Leaves Trip Open to Speculation". Roll Call. Retrieved February 19, 2015. 
5. ^ Seitz-Wald, Alex (February 18, 2015). "What is D.C.’s ‘shadow senator’ doing in Iowa?". MSNBC. Retrieved February 19, 2015. 

Other potential candidates

As of May 2015, these individuals have been the focus of media speculation in reliable secondary sources within the past three months.

• 

  Al Gore, Vice President of the United States 1993–2001; U.S. Senator from Tennessee 1985–1993; presidential candidate in 1988 and nominee in 2000^[1][2][3]

• 

  Dannel Malloy, Governor of Connecticut since 2011; Mayor of Stamford 1995–2011^[4][5]

• 

  Jack Markell, Governor of Delaware since 2009; Treasurer of Delaware 1993–2009^[6][7]

• 

  Chris Murphy, U.S. Senator from Connecticut since 2013; U.S. Representative from Connecticut 2007-2013^[8][9]

1. ^ Haq, Husna (March 16, 2015) "Al Gore for president. Does he have a chance?", The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
2. ^ Graham, David A. (March 18, 2015) "Why Is Al Gore Warming Up?", The Atlantic. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
3. ^ Weaver, Al (March 23, 2015) "Al Gore, Jerry Brown Send Democrats Back To The ’90s For Hillary Challenge", The Daily Caller. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
4. ^ "Is Hillary a Sure Thing in 2016?". The Huffington Post. March 1, 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2015. 
5. ^ Hackett, Ray (March 22, 2015) "Hackett on Politics: Here's a presidential primer for 2016", Norwich Bulletin. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
6. ^ Gerace, Frank (March 3, 2015) "Pundit says Markell could be 2016 presidential 'dark horse'", WDEL 1150AM. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
7. ^ Yearick, Bob (March 3, 2015) "What if There's No Hillary Clinton for President 2016 Campaign?", U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
8. ^ (March 12, 2015) "Imagining 2016 Without Hillary Clinton", The New York Times. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
9. ^ "Sen. Chris Murphy: Hillary Clinton’s strength ‘clearly’ foreign policy", New Haven Register. April 1, 2015. Retrieved April 4, 2015.

Previous

The following people have been the focus of presidential speculation in multiple media reports during the 2016 election cycle, but such speculation has ostensibly ceased for a period of three months or longer.

• Mike Beebe, Governor of Arkansas 2007–2015; Attorney General of Arkansas 2003–2007^[4][5]
• Michael Bennet, U.S. Senator from Colorado since 2009; Superintendent of Denver Public Schools 2005–2009^[6][7]
• Steve Beshear, Governor of Kentucky since 2007; Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky 1983–1987; Attorney General of Kentucky 1980–1983^[6][8]
• Steve Bullock, Governor of Montana since 2013; Attorney General of Montana 2009–2013^[9][10][6]
• Russ Feingold, U.S. Special Representative for the African Great Lakes region since 2013; U.S. Senator from Wisconsin 1993–2011^[11][12]
• Christine Gregoire, Governor of Washington 2005–2013; Attorney General of Washington 1993–2005^[13][14]
• Luis Gutiérrez, U.S. Representative from Illinois since 1993; Member of the Chicago City Council 1986–1992^[15][16]
• Kamala Harris, Attorney General of California since 2011^[14][17]
• Maggie Hassan, Governor of New Hampshire since 2013^[9][18]
• Gary Locke, United States Ambassador to China 2011–2014; United States Secretary of Commerce 2009–2011; Governor of Washington 1997–2005^[19][20]
• William H. McRaven, retired Admiral and former Commander of the United States Special Operations Command^[21][22]
• Janet Napolitano, President of the University of California since 2013; U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security 2009–2013; Governor of Arizona 2003–2009^[23]
• Jay Nixon, Governor of Missouri since 2009; Attorney General of Missouri 1993–2009^[9][24]
• Ed Rendell, Governor of Pennsylvania 2003–2011; Mayor of Philadelphia 1992–2000^[25]
• Kathleen Sebelius, United States Secretary of Health and Human Services 2009–2014; Governor of Kansas 2003–2009^[11][13]
• Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles 2005–2013^[26][11]
• Tom Wolf, Governor of Pennsylvania since 2015; Secretary of Revenue of Pennsylvania 2007-2008^[6][8]

Declined

Individuals listed in this section have been the focus of media speculation as being possible 2016 presidential candidates, but have unequivocally ruled out a presidential bid in 2016.

• Tammy Baldwin, U.S. Senator from Wisconsin since 2013; U.S. Representative from Wisconsin 1999–2013^[27]
• Evan Bayh, U.S. Senator from Indiana 1999–2011; Governor of Indiana 1989–1997^[28]
• Michael Bloomberg, Republican turned Independent Mayor of New York City 2002–2013^[29]
• Cory Booker, U.S. Senator from New Jersey since 2013, Mayor of Newark, New Jersey 2006–2013^[30]
• Jerry Brown, Governor of California since 2011 and 1975–1983; California Attorney General 2007–2011; presidential candidate in 1976, 1980 and 1992^[31][32]
• Sherrod Brown, U.S. Senator from Ohio since 2007; U.S. Representative from Ohio 1993–2007; Secretary of State of Ohio 1983–1991^[33]
• Joaquín Castro, U.S. Representative from Texas since 2013^[34]
• Julian Castro, United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development since 2014; Mayor of San Antonio, Texas 2009–2014^[35][36]
• George Clooney, actor and filmmaker from California^[37]
• Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York since 2011; Attorney General of New York 2007–2010; U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 1997–2001^[38]
• Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee 2005–2009; Governor of Vermont 1991–2003; presidential candidate in 2004^[39]
• Bill de Blasio, Mayor of New York City since 2014; New York City Public Advocate 2010–2013; New York City Councilman 2002–2009^[40][41]
• Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago since 2011; White House Chief of Staff 2009–2010; U.S. Representative from Illinois 2003–2009^[42]
• Al Franken, U.S. Senator from Minnesota since 2009^[43]
• Kirsten Gillibrand, U.S. Senator from New York since 2009; U.S. Representative from New York 2007–2009^[44]
• Martin Heinrich, U.S. Senator from New Mexico since 2013; U.S. Representative from New Mexico 2009–2013^[45]
• John Hickenlooper, Governor of Colorado since 2011; Mayor of Denver, Colorado 2003–2011^[46]
• Tim Kaine, U.S. Senator from Virginia since 2013; Governor of Virginia 2006–2010^[47]
• John Kerry, United States Secretary of State since 2013; U.S. Senator from Massachusetts 1985–2013; presidential nominee in 2004^[48]
• Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Senator from Minnesota since 2007^[49]
• Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Representative from Ohio 1997–2013; presidential candidate in 2004, and 2008; Mayor of Cleveland Ohio 1977–1979^[50]
• Joe Manchin, U.S. Senator from West Virginia since 2010, Governor of West Virginia 2005–2010^[51]
• Claire McCaskill, U.S. Senator from Missouri since 2007; Auditor of Missouri 1999–2007^[52]
• Deval Patrick, Governor of Massachusetts 2007–2015^[53][54]
• Kasim Reed, Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia since 2010^[55]
• Robert Reich, United States Secretary of Labor 1993–1997^[56][57]
• Brian Schweitzer, Governor of Montana 2005–2013^[58]
• Jeanne Shaheen, U.S. Senator from New Hampshire since 2009; Governor of New Hampshire 1997–2003^[59]
• Mark Warner, U.S. Senator from Virginia since 2009; Governor of Virginia 2002–2006^[60]
• Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts since 2013; Special Advisor to the President 2010–2011^[61][62]

See also

• 2016 Democratic National Convention
• Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016
• Democratic Party presidential debates, 2016
• Nationwide opinion polling for the Democratic Party 2016 presidential primaries
• Statewide opinion polling for the Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016
• Republican Party presidential candidates, 2016
• United States third party and independent presidential candidates, 2016

References

External links

• 2016 Presidential Form 2 Filers at the Federal Election Commission (FEC)

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