As the 2016 presidential election continues to draw closer, the Republican party has been receiving the majority of the media coverage. Donald Trump has raced ahead in the early polls, but there are plenty of other candidates to keep an eye on as well. There are five candidates in particular that have distanced themselves from the pack and are looking like the most likely candidates to win the 2016 nomination.
On the other side of the party lines, Hillary Clinton is currently favored by the Democratic party, with Joe Biden as a potential candidate as well. Bernie Sanders has been talked about quite a bit of late, although not to the extent that Clinton and Biden have been.
That being said, the Republican party has quite a few of the hottest candidates in the entire race. It isn't going to be easy for anyone to beat out whoever wins the nomination, although there is a good chance that Trump could decide to run as an independent if he doesn't win. If he does make that move, it would hurt the Republican candidate in a fairly big way.
While the election is still quite a long time away, it is never too early to begin looking at who could win the Republican nomination. At this point in time, there are a few names that are easily running away with the early race.
There is a lot of time for this to change, but which five Republican candidates are currently most likely to come away with the presidential nomination?
5. Ben Carson
Ben Carson is one of the more intriguing candidates in the party who has had quite a bit of interest being shown in him since the first Republican debate in Cleveland. He is a soft spoken person with obvious intelligence, but there are some issues that he will have to strengthen to win over the necessary amount of people. Despite that, there is a growing sense that he could be a player to watch in the race over the next few months if he can get his name out in the media a bit more.
4. John Kasich
There weren't any stronger candidates in the first Republican debate than Kasich, who came out with home field advantage as the Ohio governor. He saw interest in him spike drastically following the debate after coming through with very strong answers to every question. Kasich is definitely a name to watch throughout this race who could come away with the nomination.
3. Jeb Bush
Jeb Bush has seen his name falling in the polls and being smeared by fellow Republican candidate Donald Trump at every chance possible. He has been given a bad rep for being related to George W. Bush, but that won't define him when the time comes down for people to go out and vote. His experience is a major key for him, but he'll have to come out firing and proving that he isn't sleep walking through the next debate.
2. Donald Trump
There is no question that Trump has come out and is one of the strongest candidates, but there are still quite a few issues with him. He has been in the media spotlight early on, but there are many flaws in the answers that he gives. Running a country like a business will never work, which could be his downfall against some of the other candidates and in the voting booths.
1. Marco Rubio
The young up-and-coming 44-year-old Senator from Florida is one of the names drawing the most interest over the past few weeks. He has come across as being extremely honest, and his charisma and young looks are very appealing to quite a few voters. Rubio is, without question, the strongest candidate that the Republicans could choose at this point in time, and his name should continue to steadily rise in the polls moving forward.
Do you have an opinion on who should win the Republican nomination? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comment box below.
