Mediaboss Marketing

As the 2016 presidential contest continues to take shape, Hillary Clinton appears to be in an extraordinary position - the former secretary of state is essentially running more as a White House incumbent (a la Barack Obama in 2012 or George W. Bush in 2004) than your traditional candidate for an open-seat race.

And her quasi-incumbent status gives her some clear advantages and disadvantages.

While Clinton still isn't officially a presidential candidate, consider these past actions:

This isn't a presidential candidate who's starting from scratch; rather, it's someone who is surrounding herself with the current term-limited president's team.

Perhaps more significantly - and more like a presidential incumbent - she is facing little to no primary opposition.

That's in contrast to the last two clear frontrunners who tried to succeed their party's term-limited president: George H.W. Bush (who in 1988 received a challenge from Bob Dole) and Al Gore (who got one from Bill Bradley).

Yes, Clinton could very well face challenges from Democrats like former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., or former Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va. But as of now, it seems very unlikely that Vice President Joe Biden or Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., will run if Clinton is in the race. Indeed, Hillary Clinton also enlisting Warren's top strategist Mandy Grunwald is the latest sign that Warren isn't running.

And then there's the polling: A recent Des Moines Register/Bloomberg poll found Clinton ahead in Iowa by 40 points from her nearest competition (Warren). And a WMUR Granite State poll had Clinton up by 44 points in New Hampshire.

Advantages and disadvantages to Clinton's position

Of course, as we've seen in the past, an incumbent president running for re-election has advantages and disadvantages.

See original here:
Why Hillary Isn't Your Typical Frontrunner