Speculation starts in US on who will run in 2016

Less than 24 hours after the historic re-election of Barack Obama as the US president, speculation has begun in Washington, DC, as to who would be the Democratic party nominee for the 2016 presidential elections.

The name of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has begun topping such a list along with Joe Biden, the vice president.

Notably, Clinton has so far refuted all such reports of her presidential election aspirations.

"But Democrats -- and even some Republicans -- keep calling on Clinton to run, and after four successful years as the face of American diplomacy her fan base is deeper than ever.

"If Clinton were to throw her hat in the ring, she'd be considered the front-runner, just as she was when she launched her 2008 bid," the National Journal reported putting Clinton on top of such a list followed by Biden.

Biden during the just concluded election campaign had thrown a hint about it.

'He is a more instinctively populist politician than many of 2016's potential contenders, and many Democrats love him despite his flaws,' the Journal said as it put the Maryland Governor Martin O' Malley and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the list.

"Discussions on the Democratic side are dominated by one question: Will Hillary make another run for president? Even the most plugged-in Washington insiders are unable to answer with any certainty.

'On one hand, no one doubts the scale of the secretary of State's ambition. On the other, the bruises from her 2008 primary loss to the current president were deep and might yet dissuade her from making another bid,' The Hill reported.

If Clinton did run, she would be an overwhelming favourite. Her husband's unflagging efforts to help the president's re-election bid this year have also helped, the newspaper added.

'I would imagine that if she decided to run, and decided to run early, she would just clear the field,' Tobe Berkovitz, a Boston University professor who specializes in political communication told The Hill.

'I just can't see anyone wanting to be the skunk at that garden party,' he said.

Among the names doing the rounds for the Republican party are Senator Marco Rubio, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Congressman Paul Ryan, who was the vice presidential running mate of Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee.