Next year, 2015, will be a year of preparation, especially in terms of the campaign for the presidency in 2016.
In the Democratic Party, with President Barack Obama stepping down after two terms as president, Hillary Clinton, who has recently served as Secretary of State in the Obama administration and before that served as a U.S. Senator representing New York State, has emerged as a leading candidate for the Democratic 2016 presidential nomination.
In 2008, she did not do too well in the Democratic presidential primaries against Obama.
When the primaries ended it was Obama who had the necessary number of delegates to win the nomination at the national Democratic convention, and go on to win the presidential race against Republican Senator John McCain.
The question is will Clinton have opponents running against her in the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries? If so, will Hillary Clinton prevail and become the presidential nominee of her party, or will 2016 see a rerun of 2008 with a new candidate taking the nomination?
In the Republican Party, it appears to be a wide-open race with various governors and U.S. Senators interested.
The Republican candidate for president four years ago, former Governor Mitt Romney, may be interested in running again.
However, the 2016 presidential primaries and the national party conventions are a long way off and a lot can happen before and during these events.
It will be an important political year in 2016, both nationally and at the state and local levels. The results of those elections will have a strong impact on how our nation’s political, social and economic directions proceed.
During the next year, candidates for public office will be organizing, as will prospective presidential candidates in both major parties. The next two years should prove to be a turning point in American election history.
Here at the local level in Queens County, next year also will be a year of preparation. The Democratic Party currently holds all the county offices for U.S. Congress, state senate and state assembly. Most of the holders of these offices will be running for re-election in 2016.
Next year, the Queens Republican Party will be having their party county convention to elect their county officers and possibly establish some party policy.
Right now the Queens County Republican Party Chairman is attorney Robert Beltrani, who according to the county by-laws, as Executive Vice Chairman has moved up to become County Chairman after the death of County Chair Phil Ragusa. Next year he will have the job of getting the Queens Republican Party ready for local races in 2016, as well as helping to prepare for the national presidential campaign.
A former chairperson of the Rockaway Republican Club, Margaret Wagner may be taking an important role in working to end the conflicts between various groups within the Queens Republican Party. She, among others, will be assisting in the efforts to build a united county party organization.
Next year the Queens Republican Party will be holding its convention in September, after the primaries have ended. Up until that time the 18 assembly districts will be organizing according to designating district leaders and county committeemen. It is these leaders who choose the county officers to run the county party during the following two years.
Here in New York the next two years will be an interesting interlude in the American electoral system.
