Clinton looks like a 2016 shoo-in, but can she compete with the GOP?

Each Wednesday for the past several months, The World and Everything in It has profiled possible candidates in the next presidential election. The Democratic field doesn’t appear to be nearly as expansive as that of the GOP, but about half a dozen Democrats may challenge Hillary Clinton for their party’s nomination in 2016. Here’s a look at what’s going on with those candidates.

Because Hillary Clinton rules the roost in the field of possible Democratic nominees, some potentially strong candidates appear content to keep their powder dry for another four or eight years rather than challenge her.

But two people on the Democrat side likely will throw their hats in the ring: Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, who launched an exploratory committee last month. And O’Malley has said publicly he’s seriously considering a White House run.

Vice President Joe Biden hasn’t tipped his hand one way or the other, and he could be a credible candidate. But the word on the street is that the people who write the big checks in his party don’t have much interest.Another “maybe” is Sen. Bernie Sanders. New York Gov. Mario Cuomo has said he won’t run.

The Democratic establishment so heavily favors Hillary Clinton that no one can seriously challenge her unless they set the Democratic base on fire. And neither Webb nor O’Malley are exciting enough to do that.

The Democratic base does love Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. She is a passionate populist. Many liberals see her as a warrior for the middle class, and those same people see Hillary Clinton as part of the Wall Street establishment. So far, Warren says she will not run, though plenty of Democrats still urge her to do so.

The bigger question now is how Clinton matches up against the bigger GOP voices. A Clinton-Bush rematch, this time with Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush, would be an intriguing race. Clinton and Bush probably would cancel out a number of one another’s weaknesses. Neither can fault the other for being part of a political dynasty. They both come from privileged, wealthy families.

Against Jeb Bush, Democrats probably would hearken back to the race between George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. They’ll say, remember how swell things were in the ’90s? Do you want to go back to the Bush years or back to the Clinton years?And they may find some success with that narrative.

Against Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush most likely would perform strongly among Hispanic voters. He did as governor of Florida. His brother did as president. Bush speaks Spanish quite well, and his wife, Columba, is from Mexico. President Barack Obama dominated the Hispanic vote in 2012, but Clinton is not likely to have any significant edge over Bush with those voters. Being from Florida, the most critical swing state, would help Bush, too.

Another possible GOP candidate would have those same advantages over Clinton and then some. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is an inspirational speaker, something Hillary is not. He’s the son of Cuban immigrants and speaks Spanish, too. Unlike Bush, Rubio does not come from privilege. He might be able to successfully position himself as the working class candidate. But Rubio would have one big weakness: credibility. He is a first-term senator with no executive experience. Clinton has already lost against a first-term senator with no executive experience—Obama. But Rubio does not have the same natural commanding presence. He’s in his early 40s but looks and sounds younger. Yes, America did just elect a young, first-term senator as president, but a lot of people aren’t pleased with how that’s gone.

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