Seal of the President of the United States (Wikimedia Commons)

 As President Obama is almost half way through his second term and no future candidates have officially announced their candidacy, speculation about who will be running for office in 2016 is beginning. Some speculators suggest that the next American president could be a woman. 

“I believe a woman can be elected president in the upcoming 2016 election or during any Presidential election going into the future,” says political expert Dr. Dora Kingsley Vertenten.

According to Vertenten, any woman who runs will face the same issues as her male counterparts. To garner support, Vertenten says, “she must be well informed on the issues, have experience at the executive level and be articulate on her vision for moving America forward.”

Former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Wendy Greuel has her own advice for future female candidates, saying in a recent training session that the ability to raise money, a thick skin, and courage are the keys in running for political office.

Vertenten adds that a woman will be elected when she can gain the support of both the donor community and the policy community while also "gain[ing] the favor of voters who find her capable, friendly and a leader worth following.” 

Hillary Clinton, who lost the democratic nomination to Obama in 2008, is the current favorite and only first tier candidate for the Democratic Party.

Kingsley Vertenten says that as far as potential female candidates go, “Clinton comes to mind first. She has the experience, the fundraising track record and knowledge which can attract supporters and voters alike.”

Another potential democratic candidate is newcomer Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Although she was elected only earlier this year, a recent poll that asked students to rate politicians revealed that people view Warren more positively than they do President Obama. She came in third only to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Hillary Clinton.

Warren has a loyal following in the liberal party, and has also garnered support for a presidential campaign in the social media sphere. There is a website touting the domain www.elizabethwarrenforpresident.com and a Facebook group of the same name with almost 8000 likes. 

On the other side of the party line are the Republican governors of New Mexico and North Carolina, Susanna Martinez and Nikki Haley. According to Kingsley Vertenten, “both Gov. Martinez and Gov. Haley could raise their national profiles during the upcoming years in office to the extent that they garner a national base of support and can extend their natural leadership abilities from the State House to the White House.”

Martinez has distanced herself from some traditional Republican party positions on controversial issues like immigration. Her approval rate in New Mexico is 66 percent, and crosses party lines with 64 percent of independents’ and 44 percent of Democrats’ approval. Haley, who is currently running for reelection, is up 9 points at 48 percent in the most recent polls. 

Another potential Republican candidate is former Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. Although she has been adamant that she has no intention of running for president, Rice is popular within the Republican Party and has consistently ranked highly among GOP candidates. 

Read more about potential female presidential candidates here and here. 

Reach Staff Reporter Kaitlyn Mullin here.