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If there's one think you can say about the2016 Republican presidential field, it is this: It is going to be HUGE.

There are currently23 names on the long, long list of potential candidates. That's twice (!) as many people as have ever run for the GOPnomination in the past. Now, not all of those "candidates" will actually run -- Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker and Rep. Marsha Blackburn don't make much sense as presidential candidates, to name just two -- but that's a huge field of prospective candidates.

And while all two dozen names being mentioned won't make the race, the fact that so many credible candidates are actively looking at running speaks to the key dynamic of the coming Republican race: There is no true frontrunner.

You can make the case for Jeb Bush as the top dog. Or Chris Christie. Or, as we have in the ratings below, Rand Paul. But, you can unmake each of those cases -- including ours -- pretty easily. When national polls on the race puts the frontrunner at 15 percent, you know that the word "frontrunner" doesn't really mean that much.

Given that, the prevailing sentiment among ambitious Republicans looking at 2016 is, "Why not me?" As in, if the best-known candidates are only polling the in the mid-teens (at best), why the heck shouldn't I run and just see what happens? That attitude is affirmed by what happened in the 2012 primary fight, a remarkably fluid contest that saw previously unknown candidates like Herman Cain get their moment(s) in the national spotlight. It's also buoyed by the recent trend of people running for president not necessarily to win but to improve their future earning prospects.

Add it all up and you can expect to see somewhere as many as12-15 legitimate candidates in the presidential contest at some point during the next two years.

Below are our rankings of the 10 with the best chance of winding up as the nominee. The No. 1-ranked candidates is the most likely winner.

To the line!

10. Rep. Paul Ryan (Wis.): The 2012 GOP vice presidential nominee is on this list because he would be a frontrunner the moment he got in. But Ryanalso seems entirely happy to continue serving in the House. He just traded in his House Budget Committee chairmanship for the even-more-powerful Ways and Means Committee, which gives him ample reason to stick around. Remember that Ryan is only 44 years old, meaning he could easily wait a presidential cycle or even two before going national (again). (Previous ranking: 10)

9. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee:On the one hand, there arenational and early-state polls that show Huckabee is among the best-known and best-liked politicians considering the 2016 contest. On the other hand, Huckabee seems no more committed to building a real campaign infrastructure or raising money than he was in 2008, when his inability to do either made it impossible for him to capitalize on the momentum gained from his win in the Iowa caucuses. Huckabee is a very talented pol. But not learning the lessons of a past loss is the hallmark of someone who will lose again. (Previous ranking: 7)

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The Fix: The Why not me? race for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016