Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post’s politically obsessed blog “The Fix” ranks Sen. Amy Klobuchar eighth on the list of the 10 politicians with the best chance of being the Democratic Party’s 2016 nominee for president.
There are few ways to be more politically obsessed than compiling such lists 39 months before the next presidential Election Day, but anyone who harbors the faintest of Oval Office amibitions is surely taking steps to be ready, especially in the current situation, in case Hillary Clinton shocks the world by announcing her non-candidacy.
Cillizza, of course, lists Clinton at No. 1, but he has three other women on the top 10 list, including the senior senator from Minnesota. Writes Cillizza:
If Clinton takes a pass on 2016, there is a strong group of female Democratic candidates who could emerge as serious contenders for the nomination.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), who took Clinton’s place in the Senate, has emerged as a leading voice for gay men and lesbians and for women in the military during her relatively brief stint in the chamber. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) is already a national liberal hero for her crusade against big banks. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) may well be the most talented — and effective — politician most people have never heard of.
When he gets around to Klobuchar at No. 8:
We’ve written many times that no politician ever goes to Iowa accidentally. So, the Minnesota senator’s trip to the Hawkeye State next month means only one thing: She wants to be part of the great-mentioned when it comes to 2016. Klobuchar’s résumé is very impressive: a two-term U.S. senator and, before that, a county attorney.
The full Fix list:
- 10. Former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer
- 9. Mass. Sen. Elizabeth Warren
- 8. Klobuchar
- 7. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean
- 6. Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley
- 5. Newark Mayor Cory Booker
- 4. New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand
- 3. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo
- 2. Vice President Joe Biden
- 1. Hillary Clinton
