We are still 16 months from heading to the polls for the 2016 election, but local pundits say the campaigns are gearing up. The list of candidates is continuing to grow by the day, but those who feel in the lead are taking that lead and running with it. And the two most prominent are Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush. They have a lot of name recognition. But that could work against them.
"There's a thing called Clinton-Bush Fatigue," said Political Science Professor Eric Herzik today. "I mean Hillary comes with a lot of baggage even before you link her to Bill. And Jeb Bush is the third Bush!"
No matter who gets the nomination, they are expected to be spending a lot of money and Nevada, as a swing state, will be one of the campaign targets.
"President Obama spent a record amount of money on his second election. He raised a billion dollars for it," said Fred Lokken, Political Science Professor at TMCC. "I think Hillary and Jeb could each raise that much money if they need to. And then there's the 527 C money that is spent on their behalf. It's an astounding amount of money. And they are starting this campaign earlier than any campaign has ever started in this country."
"We are already seeing sparring," Herzik said. "Hillary won't answer questions and the media is constantly on her for it. Jeb Bush turned that around saying he'd answer any question, any question at all. And that was a direct jab at Hillary Clinton."
But Fred Lokken summed it all up.
"Nevadans should fasten the seatbelts on their barcalounger and get ready for an adventure because the dirty campaigning and the volume of advertising in this election will make 2014 and 2012 pale in comparison."
