April Start to the 2016 Official Campaign?

Sean Parnell

According to Politico, it looks like April will see the first of what are sure to be many official candidacy announcements in the 2016 presidential nomination process.

GOP hopefuls rush toward starting gates

The 2016 race is about to get real.

At least three Republican presidential candidates are expected to formally launch their campaigns within the next three or four weeks, due to a mix of calendar dates and deadlines that offer an ideal window for them to officially declare their intentions.

Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, and Ted Cruz are looking to early April as a target for their campaign announcements. Specific dates haven’t been settled on, advisers to three GOP senators said, leaving the possibility that some of the roll-outs could begin as early as the final days of March or stretch into mid-April.

A fourth candidate, Hillary Clinton, also appears increasingly likely to enter the contest in April. Clinton had been seen as likely to launch her candidacy later in the year, but recent damaging revelations that she used a private email account as secretary of state have led fellow Democrats to encourage her to jump in sooner…

Interesting that all three on the Republican side looking at April launches are also the three sitting U.S. Senators looking at running. This should set off a stampede of other candidates getting in the race, as nobody will want to give their rivals too much of a head start in fundraising and organizing in the early states.