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NEW YORK Hillary Clinton loyalists anticipate the 2016 presidential race will be exceedingly close and that possible Republican candidates Jeb Bush and Rand Paul could prove attractive to voters in battleground states.

At an event Friday hosted by the super PAC Ready for Hillary, some of her most ardent supporters said they dont expect Mrs. Clinton to breeze into the White House if she runs, in part because the nation might be unwilling to extend Democratic control of the White House another four years.

Harold Ickes, a top adviser on Mrs. Clintons 2008 presidential bid, told reporters that a Republican ticket made up of Mr. Bush and Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio would be a formidable one.

As the Spanish-speaking ex-governor of Florida, Mr. Bush could potentially attract Hispanics who voted heavily for President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, Mr. Ickes said. For his part, Mr. Portman represents a swing state that is perennial a great prize in the competition for the 270 electoral college votes needed to win the White House.

I would think that a Jeb Bush and a Rob Portman, just as a hypothetical, would be a strong ticket for them for a couple of reasons, said Mr. Ickes, who served in Bill Clintons White House. Should a Bush-Portman ticket win Ohio and Florida, that would put added pressure on the Democrats to capture Colorado, Mr. Ickes said.

Because Mr. Bush brother of the 43rd president and son of the 41st president appears to have very strong credentials with Hispanics that puts Colorado very much in play, Mr. Ickes said.

Seen as a centrist, Mr. Bush would have difficulty capturing the Republican nomination, given the propensity of GOP primary voters to support conservative candidates.

Other possible Republican candidates stand to do well in important swing states, some of the other Ready for Hillary attendees said.

Kentucky Sen. Paul, for example, might draw independent voters in New Hampshire, a state with libertarian leanings, Terry Shumaker, a top adviser to Ready for Hillary, told reporters. Mr. Paul has been a sharp critic of the federal governments surveillance practices and has taken a wary view of U.S. military intervention overseas.

I would think that Rand Paul would have significant appeal in New Hampshire because there is a very strong libertarian streak in our state, Mr. Shumaker said. We believe that people should be left alone. We believe in the right to privacy.

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Hillary Clinton Supporters See an Especially Tight Race in 2016