2016 United States Presidential Election

The 2016 United States Presidential Election, taking place on 8 November 2016, was the 58th quadrennial presidential election in the United States of America. The election saw former First Lady, Secretary of State, and Democratic Senator from New York Hillary Rodham Clinton run against former Republican Governor of Florida Jeb Bush in a widely-publicized 'rematch' between the prominent Bush and Clinton political families (former President Bill Clinton had defeated incumbent George H. W. Bush in the 1992 election). After a round of largely-contested primaries and a hard-fought general campaign, Clinton defeated Bush in a landslide, claiming 362 of the 538 electoral votes allocated throughout the states and the District of Columbia.

A long-time favorite among members of the Democratic Party and the runner-up in the 2008 Presidential Election Democratic Primaries, Hillary Clinton secured her party's nomination without major opposition. Choosing Governor of Maryland Martin O'Malley as her running mate, Clinton was able to start campaigning in the general election long before her Republican opponent due to her uncontested primary victory. Meanwhile, Jeb Bush, as one of many potential presidential candidates from the Republican Party, became involved in a hard-fought primary campaign, running against other prominent Republican figures including New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Texas Governor Rick Perry, neurosurgeon Ben Carson, and Texas Senator Ted Cruz. After being declared victorious at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, Bush chose Christie as his running mate and began a vigorous campaign for the presidency. Republican pundits often accredited Bush's distinctive loss in the general election as partially due to a lack of support from those affiliated with the Tea Party Movement, who, after the primary elections, instead focused funds and efforts around rallying for Republican Kentucky Senator Rand Paul as a possible choice for the 2020 nomination.

Clinton would proceed to win the election against Bush decisively, winning 64.5% of the popular vote, as well as more than twice the amount of electoral votes as her opponent. After her victory, Clinton would receive instantaneous and widespread international recognition due to her being the first female President of the United States - for the first time, a woman would be in control of the world's most economically, technologically, and militarily advanced nation in the world. Clinton was also the sixteenth president affiliated with the Democratic Party, as well as the second-oldest president and seventh to have served previously as the Secretary of State.

Candidates

 * Hillary Rodham Clinton, Former U.S. Senator from New York
 * Joe Biden, Vice President of the United States from Delaware
 * Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator from Vermont
 * Martin O'Malley, Former Governor of Maryland
 * Jim Webb, Former U.S. Senator from Virginia
 * Howard Dean, former Governor of Vermont
 * Joe Manchin, U.S. Senator from West Virginia
 * Steve Bullock, Governor of Montana
 * Luis Gutiérrez, Former U.S. Representative from Illinois
 * Russ Feingold, Former U.S. Senator from Wisconsin
 * Antonio Villaraigosa, Former Mayor of Los Angeles, California
 * Brian Schweitzer, Former Governor of Montana
 * William H. McRaven, Former Commander of the United States Special Operations Command from Texas
 * Janet Napolitano, Former Governor of Arizona
 * Ed Rendell, Former Governor of Pennsylvania

Republican Party

 * Jeb Bush, Former Governor of Florida
 * Paul Ryan, U.S. Representative from Wisconsin
 * Rand Paul, U.S. Senator from Kentucky
 * Marco Rubio, U.S. Senator from Florida
 * Ben Carson, Retired Neurosurgeon from Maryland
 * Mike Pence, Governor of Indiana
 * Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey
 * Ted Cruz, U.S. Senator from Texas
 * Rick Perry, Former Governor of Texas
 * Michelle Bachmann, Former U.S. Representative from Minnesota
 * Lindsay Graham, U.S. Senator from South Carolina
 * Bob Corker, U.S. Senator from Tennessee
 * George Pataki, Former Governor of New York
 * John R. Bolton, Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
 * Allen West, Former U.S. Representative from Florida