A whirlwind of announcements and speculation have developed surrounding the 2016 presidential candidates, in an age when people plan their announcements, as if the public didn’t already know they were running. Some of those who haven’t publically announced their candidacy, but have talked about their campaigns as if they were, include Hillary Clinton, Lincoln Chafe and Bernie Sanders.
Chafe, a Republican turned Democrat, recently announced he is formally exploring a candidacy while Sanders, also a Democrat, is another soon to be candidate who has expressed interest.
When hard-pressed, Sanders told Larry Willmore on The Nightly Show, “If we can demonstrate that we have a whole lot of people willing to stand up and fight, and we can raise a reasonable amount of money, yeah, I would run for president.” Sanders seems to be testing the waters before making anything official.
When can we consider a presidential candidate officially announced?
Hillary Clinton appears to have scheduled her official announcement, which is an announcement in and of itself. The announcement date marks when people can officially donate to the campaign, so Clinton may be trying to raise awareness for a strong start. Otherwise, if Clinton announces on Sunday that she isn’t running, it might be the biggest political troll ever. What might justify the long wait would be the way in which she announces her campaign. Perhaps making the announcement while skydiving or an equivalent stunt would be justifiable, as bands have made tour announcements in this manner.
It seems to be Democrats who are the most hesitant to announce their campaigns. Currently, a conspiracy theorist, a performance artist and a former head football coach represent the 2016 democratic presidential candidates. Republicans, on the other hand, have two senators, a retired engineer and a former IRS commissioner representing them currently. However, titles, of course, may not necessarily speak to qualifications.
Using new technology to appeal to younger voters, one of these candidates, Sen. Rand Paul, is the first to have a bitcoin payment option for contributions to his campaign. New regulations had to be created as a result of this bold endeavor. The contributions are regulated as cash, with a cap of $100.00.
