A flurry of official entrances into the race could come this springwith all eyes on Hillary Clinton on the Democratic side, and Republicans looking at a wide-open field that includes more than a dozen potentially viable candidates.
And much of the action will take place in the first two states to vote: Iowa and New Hampshire.
Many of the events on 2015’s calendar will be familiar: Conservatives will flock to major conferences. The Iowa State Fair will draw a huge crowd. The first debates will be major events. But presidential election cycles are “almost unique,” said David Oman, a former Iowa GOP co-chairman and the chief of staff to two of the state’s Republican governors.
The 2016 cycle, Oman said, “is well underway. It’s almost all under the radar.” Many contenders visited Iowa to campaign for Republican Senate candidate Joni Ernst in 2014 — and did some outreach and organizing while they were there, he said.
“There are a lot of phone calls that are being made among Iowa activists, and certainly into the state — some from the candidates or would-be candidates, and others from people who are helping them,” he said.
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Iowa’s 99 counties and New Hampshire’s 10 counties will also offer candidates lower-profile speaking opportunities.
Late 2015: The debates. National Republicans have tried to winnow what during the 2012 election cycle seemed like an unending string of debates. But the debates will still happen, they’ll be televised nationally, and they’ll present candidates with opportunities to grab media attention — for better or, as Texas Gov. Rick Perry learned when he forgot the name of the third federal agency he wanted to abolish during one debate, for worse.
All year: Politics & Eggs. The New England Council and the New Hampshire Institute of Politics & Political Library at Saint Anselm College co-host these regular Granite State events. Candidates typically speak for about 15 minutes, and then take questions. Dates for 2015 appearances haven’t yet been announced — but a spate of presidential contenders are all but certain to be added to the schedule in the coming months.
“That is a real tradition. Virtually everybody that has run for president has spoken at one or more of those over the years,” Shumaker said. “My guess is that will really heat up after the new year, and that’s a great way to meet a crowd that’s not a typical political crowd — it’s bipartisan, heavy on business people and education and non-profit types and students.”
