Either way, these threads aren't often accurate. (Who would have predicted Sanders or Trump running in 2012? Who would have predicted Cain running in 2008?)
Every cycle has a substantial contingent of candidates you never would have predicted. But in the case of 2016, most people back in 2012 did accurately predict the 2016 Democratic frontrunner. And quite a few of the Republican names being mentioned back then (Christie, Rubio, Bush, Kasich, Jindal, Paul, Huckabee, Santorum) did end up running. If you follow this stuff closely, you'll have a better chance of accurately predicting at least some of the candidates years in advance than you would if you just randomly listed a bunch of governors and senators.
