Three most likely 2016 nominees for each party (if Obama wins this year)?

[Mr. Morden]

If Obama wins this year, then who are the three most likely 2016 nominees for each party (that is, pick three Dems and three Republicans)?

[tpfkaw]

Hillary, Cuomo, Deval; Huckabee, Rubio, Paul

[NHI]

Hillary, Cuomo, Schweitzer
Christie, Rubio, Jindal

[Incipimus iterum]

Dems: Kirsten Gillibrand, John Hickenlooper, Mark Warner Gop: Jon Huntsman, Mitch Daniels, John Thune

[ShadowRocket]

Hillary, Cuomo, Schweitzer
Christie, Rubio, Jindal

I agree with this.

[morgieb]

Hillary - if she runs, the nomination is her's.
Cuomo - the favourite if Hillary doesn't run due to media support, his last name and his strong record as a governor.
Schweitzer - loved by more political hacks, could be 2016's Obama.
Christie - governor of a blue state and quite popular, too. Loved by the Republican base.
Jindal - strong record as governor and as a policy wonk. Also a minority, though he was more down to lack of real options.
Rubio - loved by the base, young, Hispanic, teleogenic.

[Mr. Morden]

Two quick points on the Democratic side:

-As I've mentioned before, even though Cuomo isn't exactly beloved by the base, the fact that he's the sitting governor of NY means that he'll be able to raise enormous sums of $, so he'll certainly be a factor (assuming HRC doesn't run).  However, he's divorced and lives with his current girlfriend.  Is the American electorate not yet ready to handle that?  Will he have to marry her in order to make it to the White House...or even to the nomination?

-How big is Warner's fortune?  If he runs, will he be able to self-fund in the primary, at least to the extent that Romney did in 2008?

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Hillary, Cuomo, Deval; Huckabee, Rubio, Paul

Replace Huckabee with Huntsman and Deval with Daniels and we would have been the same.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

-How big is Warner's fortune?  If he runs, will he be able to self-fund in the primary, at least to the extent that Romney did in 2008?

His net worth is roughly $200 million; so yes, he can fund the way Romney did.  And, of course, he will be able to fundraise quite well.

[Mr. Morden]

Hillary, Cuomo, Deval; Huckabee, Rubio, Paul

Replace Huckabee with Huntsman and Deval with Daniels and we would have been the same.

How does Huntsman become a legitimate contender for the 2016 GOP nomination if the GOP just lost with another rich Mormon who's not trusted by the base?  Would they really want to go that route again?

[ask_not]

ilike to see russ feingold as the nominee.

[Donerail]

ilike to see russ feingold as the nominee.

Pretty sure Feingold's done with politics.

[Phony Moderate]

Democrats:

Andrew Cuomo
Hillary Clinton
Brian Schweitzer

Republicans:

Chris Christie
Rick Santorum
John Thune

[Frodo]

Democrats:

Andrew Cuomo
Martin O'Malley
Brian Schweitzer

Republicans:

Chris Christie
Marco Rubio
Mitch Daniels
-----------------------

I don't see either Susana Martinez or Scott Walker really being presidential contenders at least until 2020, assuming they win re-election in 2014 (in the latter's case, for the third time). 

[Mister Mets]

For the Democrats, I would go with Hillary Clinton, Andrew Cuomo and Mark Warner.
It seems to me that the nomination is Hillary's if she wants it, in the same way the 2000 nomination was Gore's.
Otherwise, Cuomo would be the frontrunner.
Warner seems more impressive than Hickenlooper, O'Malley or Patrick.

The Republican side is more complicated as potential Romney running mates could become top-tier contenders. Or a botched bid for the office could result in them being out of consideration.
I'll go with Huckabee, Christie and Rubio.
Rubio is beloved by the base.
Christie has the personality.
Huckabee has name recognition in 2008, and would have a rationale for running as a different type of candidate.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Cuomo, O'Malley, Schweitzer and Christie, Rubio, Thune.

Rand Paul has no shot of winning in 2016.

[Maxwell]

Cuomo, Schweitzer, and Warner for the democrats. I think Warner has a real chance to represent moderate democrats, while Cuomo is becoming a star due to his decriminialization of Marijuana and his 75% approval in a New York.

Rubio, Christie, and Jindal have very obvious popularity and name recognition, and they could really fight it out in 2016, though my hopes are more on Rand Paul.

[Mister Mets]

I'm surprised so many here are voting for Schweitzer. I worked in Montana for a few months, with a politically active crowd, and he was beloved there. I've heard about his political talents.

But it seems really unlikely that a former small state Governor would start out in 2016 as a top-tier candidate. He would have a shot, considering his talents, but I don't see how he has a better shot than O'Malley or Hickenlooper.