Four candidates have officially declared their intention to campaign for the 2016 presidential election, though professors said they believe certain candidates are in better shape than others heading into election season.

With three Republican candidates and one Democratic contender announcing their involvement in the presidential race more than a year-and-a-half before the general elections in November 2016, the analysis on all of the candidates has just begun. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) became the most recent candidate to put his hat in the ring, officially announcing a run last Monday.

“By the end of the summer, we should have all the candidates declared,” said Raj Patel, president of the College Democrats at Syracuse University. “Some are still putting a team together; they do it strategically. Once they fundraise money, they’re established and can push for campaigning.”

Patel said it appears as if no Democrat stands a chance to challenge Hillary Clinton as the frontrunner for the Democratic Party.

Patel added that with the main issues of the 2016 presidential race being immigration, the nuclear deal with Iran and the fight against the Islamic State group, knowing where the candidates stand “will be a lot better for their campaigns.”

“Once all the candidates say what they plan to do during the presidency, it will kind of define them,” Patel said. “It’s all about what you say about the issues. Marriage equality, international relations, Cuba and building relations with Iran will be talked about.”

Patel said he thinks Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex) and Gov. Jeb Bush (R-Fla.) are the frontrunners for the Republican Party. He added that Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) “can’t get along with Republicans and Democrats” and Chris Christie (R-N.J.) is not extremely well liked by the public “because he has had some scandals.”

Members of SU College Republicans could not be reached for comment.

Christopher Faricy, an assistant professor of political science at SU, said in an email that Jeb Bush is winning the invisible primary “by raising the most money, gaining the most endorsements and having the most name recognition.”

Faricy said that after Bush, Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.) is in the best position, as he is “popular among Republicans and has the potential to raise lots of money but is still nationally unknown.” He added that the other candidates, such as Paul and Cruz, have “little to no chance” because of extreme policy positions.

Kristi Andersen, a political science professor at SU, said in an email that Bush appears to be the front runner for Republican candidates, due to his “relatively broad appeal and his ability to raise lots of money.”

Although Andersen said there is no way of knowing at this point if any Republican candidate will become president, she said she thinks Clinton will be one of the final two candidates for the 2016 presidency.

“At this point there are no obvious challengers to Clinton,” Andersen said. “As time passes, it will be increasingly hard for anyone else to have a chance, as Clinton signs up more donors and supporters.”

Andersen said that even though Cruz, Rubio and Paul have publicly announced their candidacy, there are as many as 20 people who have expressed interest in running or have been talked about as possible candidates for the presidency.

She said that for Republican candidates, Cruz appeals to the most socially conservative part of the Republican Party and Paul appeals to libertarians. Rubio, on the other hand, “wants to position himself to appeal to a broad range of Republican voters.”

“It’s too early to tell who is doing it right or wrong at this point — we need to see more of the campaign,” Andersen said.

Published on April 20, 2015 at 9:30 pm

Contact Katelyn: kmfaubel@syr.edu