Would any Republican have beaten any Democrat in 2016

[Beefalow and the Consumer]

Was 2016 simply a change year, giving the upper hand to any Republican? Was Trump the worst possible nominee, but lucky enough to run in a year that overwhelmingly favored Republicans?

[Beefalow and the Consumer]

If it ended up as Hillary Clinton vs Jeb! Bush, would anyone have even bothered voting?  Even I might have stayed home.

[darklordoftech]

I think Jeb or Cruz would loose. Jeb was seen as similar to his brother and Cruz has little appeal outside of solidly Republican states. Rubio or Kasich could win.

[Beefalow and the Consumer]

I think Jeb or Cruz would loose. Jeb was seen as similar to his brother and Cruz has little appeal outside of solidly Republican states. Rubio or Kasich could win.

Jeb! would have been seen by a lot of the public the same way as Hillary: scion of a much maligned political dynasty. A Bernie Sanders vs Jeb! Bush map would be interesting to see. Sanders might actually make gains in KY and WV. Not enough to win them, but maybe get close to within single digits.

[538Electoral]

I don't know about that. What I do know is about any Republican could've beaten Clinton.

[darklordoftech]

I think Jeb or Cruz would loose. Jeb was seen as similar to his brother and Cruz has little appeal outside of solidly Republican states. Rubio or Kasich could win.

Jeb! would have been seen by a lot of the public the same way as Hillary: scion of a much maligned political dynasty. A Bernie Sanders vs Jeb! Bush map would be interesting to see. Sanders might actually make gains in KY and WV. Not enough to win them, but maybe get close to within single digits.

The way Jeb campaigned, he might as well have pledged to make Liz Cheney his running mate. Jeb literally said, “I would have gone into Iraq.”

[morgankingsley]

Republicans were not guaranteed to win that year

[Beefalow and the Consumer]

Republicans were not guaranteed to win that year

Not guaranteed, but it was theirs to lose. By any objective measure, it was an overwhelmingly favorable environment for them.

[Mr. Smith]

Hillary was pretty much guaranteed against any traditional Republican because really, she knew how to defeat them all. It is because of that that even now, the base of the GOP are still riled up about her...because they knew they dodged a bullet when 70,000 votes barely undermined her. And this happened by supporting the one candidate who happened to be even better at just carrying baggage like a bunch of terminal diseases somehow canceling each other out.

I think Sanders would struggle against Cruz, Kasich, and Trump, but probably would've bested the rest.

[morgankingsley]

I think Sanders would struggle against Trump

I agree. He would probably win, but it would be no landslide like many say it would have been

[I Can Now Die Happy]

Hillary was pretty much guaranteed against any traditional Republican because really, she knew how to defeat them all. It is because of that that even now, the base of the GOP are still riled up about her...because they knew they dodged a bullet when 70,000 votes barely undermined her. And this happened by supporting the one candidate who happened to be even better at just carrying baggage like a bunch of terminal diseases somehow canceling each other out.

I think Sanders would struggle against Cruz, Kasich, and Trump, but probably would've bested the rest.

[AtorBoltox]

Only Trump could have won

[dw93]

Hillary beats Cruz, Jeb!,  and Carson. Bernie beats Jeb!, Carson, and Trump, and would have a 50/50 shot against Cruz. Both would lose to Rubio or Kasich, and Kasich is the only one with the potential to outdo Trump electorally.

[Kingpoleon]

Cruz would have lost to both, and maybe Carson loses to Sanders.

[KaiserDave]

Only Trump could've won.

[Orwell]

Only Trump could've won.

[KaiserDave]

The whole Kasichslide meme is dumb.

[El Betico]

My idea is that Trump did a miracle in Pennsylvania and Michigan.

[Kingpoleon]

The whole Kasichslide meme is dumb.

The polls disagree. You know, the ones that showed him winning Pennsylvania by almost ten points?

[darklordoftech]

I wonder how Rand Paul would have done.

[It’s so Joever]

How did you forget about the legendary GOP candidate, Jim Gilmore?

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

Of course not. I don't know where this meme that 2016 was always going to be a great Republican year came from. By any historical standard the structural factors should have been a wash (Obama fatigue+sudden worsening of race relations vs. okayish economy+muh demographics). It wasn't even inevitable that Trump would beat Clinton, not by a long shot; we're just living in the one out of every three or four universes in which he did.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Jeb! loses to Hillary, but beats Sanders. T***p loses to Sanders (but beats Hillary, clearly). Both Democrats beat Cruz and Carson, and both lose to Rubio and Kasich.

[dw93]

Of course not. I don't know where this meme that 2016 was always going to be a great Republican year came from. By any historical standard the structural factors should have been a wash (Obama fatigue+sudden worsening of race relations vs. okayish economy+muh demographics). It wasn't even inevitable that Trump would beat Clinton, not by a long shot; we're just living in the one out of every three or four universes in which he did.

I basically agree with this. 2016 to me was the epitome of a wash election if you go solely by the fundamentals.