Elections

Over the weekend, former President Bill Clinton hinted that his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, may in fact run for president in 2016.

During a Q&A session on Saturday in St. Louis, Missouri, Clinton was asked if he would rather take eight more years as president or complete 16 projects at the Clinton Global Initiative. His response was:

‘I would rather keep doing what I'm doing. Because I think America will have some very good choices for president."

Some suggest that this comment was a hint that his wife would run in 2016, despite having been pretty non-committal to date.

On Saturday, conservatives chose Rand Paul as their preferred presidential nominee for 2016 in an early, but often unreliable look at the Republican Party's base.

The Kentucky senator topped the annual straw poll taken at the Conservative Political Action Conference, narrowly beating out Florida senator Marco Rubio, 25 to 23 percent. Rick Santorum, who ran for president in 2012, finished third and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who was snubbed by CPAC, came in fourth in the polling.

One of the reasons that the results of CPAC polls tends to be unreliable is that those who participate in the conference, which lasts for three days, tend to be younger than average Republican voters. Their choice of Paul also reflects the libertarian bent of the attendees. 2,930 votes were cast, and more than half were by those between the ages of 18 and 25.

Bob Bennett, the Ohio Republican Party chairman, has formally informed GOP leaders that he will be retiring effective May 31. However, Bennett plans to stay involved in politics through 2014, when statewide officeholders are to be elected.

Bennett announced his intentions to retire in a letter.

Bennett served as Ohio's GOP chairman from 1988 to 2009, and returned in 2012 after supporters of Gov. John Kasich ousted former chairman Kevin DeWine. Bennett subsequently won a two-year term as chairman, but said that he wanted to let a successor be in place before the 2014 elections.

Add Rep. Tim Ryan to the list of potential Democratic opponents to Ohio Governor John Kasich in 2014. On Wednesday, Ryan said that he's giving the race "very, very strong consideration."

Ryan, a six-term lawmaker from Niles, said that he is weighing his position in Congress as a member of the House Appropriations Committee versus what he can do i the governor's office. He said:

“I’ve been having conversations with a lot of people from around the country and in Ohio. I just want to help. I want to be in a position to do as much as I can for the people of Ohio and I’ve got to figure out what that is in the next few weeks.”

He added:

“I am concerned with the direction the state is going. I don’t think we’re getting ready for 21st century competition. I think we’re going backward in that regard.”

In particular, Ryan says that he is concerned that the state has lost nearly 30 percent of its high tech manufacturing in the past decade, and notes that "there's not any policy that's going to reverse that in the current administration.

Just before her departure from her role as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton left the door open for a possible run for the presidency in 2016, but added that she is "not inclined" to make a decision on the matter any time soon.

Speaking at a "global town hall" for students on Tuesday at the Newseum in Washington D.C., Clinton said:

"It is up to me to make a decision on my own future. I right now am not inclined to do that."

Clinton added:

I am looking forward to finishing up my tenure as secretary of state, and then catching up on about 20 years of sleep deprivation."

Clinton also revealed that her fans could expect a book, but confessed:

"I don't know what I will say in it yet."

latest statewide survey of Ohio registered voters by Quinnipiac University shows that Governor John Kasich, a Republican, has a positive job-approval rating for the first time since he took office in 2011, with 45 percent approving and 35 percent disapproving.

The survey also found that 58 percent of Ohio voters were very or somewhat satisfied with the way things are going in the state. This is the highest ever measured by Quinnipiac University for Ohio.

42 percent of registered voters viewed the Ohio economy as getting better, and 61 percent said that Kasich deserved a lot or some of the credit.

58 percent of those who saw the Ohio economy getting beter said that President Obama deserved a lot or some of the credit.

A recent memo sent out by the Republican State Leadership Committee emphasizes the GOP's 2010 victories in state legislatures as key to the Republicans maintaining its majority in the House of Representatives in the 2012 elections.

The reason those 2010 state legislature victories were so crucial to the GOP's success in the House in 2012 was the process of redistricting, or gerrymandering.

Titled "How a Strategy of Targeting State Legislative Races in 2010 Led to a Republican U.S. House Majority in 2013", the RSLC boasts that it "raised more than $30 million in 2009-2010, and invested $18 million after Labor Day 2010 alone" to ensure statehouse wins in states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

The memo reads:

“The rationale was straightforward. Controlling the redistricting process in these states would have the greatest impact on determining how both state legislative and congressional district boundaries would be drawn. Drawing new district lines in states with the most redistricting activity presented the opportunity to solidify conservative policymaking at the state level and maintain a Republican stronghold in the U.S. House of Representatives for the next decade.”

The RSLC's plan worked. Despite the fact that they took a beating in Senate races and lost the White House to incumbent President Barack Obama, House Republicans still managed to end up with a 33-seat majority. This is thanks to district maps that were drawn up by their state colleagues.

Hillary Clinton went back to work this week after a fall that led to a concussion and blood clot near her brain kept her off the job for several weeks. Her time as Secretary of State is nearing an end, as Clinton has made plans to turn over the reigns to someone new when President Barack Obama's second term in the White House officially begins later this month. Although she is leaving the State Department, Clinton says that she has no plans to retire, which has fueled speculation that she intends to run for President in 2016.

When she was asked by a reporter on how she planned to spend her retirement, Clinton retorted:

"I don't know if that is a word I would use, but certainly stepping off the very fast track for a little while."

These comments came during her first appearance with the press since returning to work earlier this week. Clinton said that her return to the State Dept. was "somewhat bittersweet" because it will soon be followed by her departure, but noted that she hoped to arrange "a very smooth, seamless transition" to her likely successor, John Kerry.

The former first lady added:

We are focused on continuing our work, finishing up everything that we can and helping Senator Kerry with his transition."

Clinton made a bid for the presidency in 2008 and was a favorite of the Democratic establishment, but the nomination ended up going to Obama. Clinton is once again seen as a front-runner for the next presidential election, but will damp down suggestions that she feels entitled.

Former Democratic Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, who lost a re-election bid to Republican John Kasich in 2010, announced on Tuesday morning that he will not seek a rematch in 2014.

In a statement sent out by the Ohio Democratic Party, Strickland said that the decision was "very difficult", adding:

"I look back fondly on my time as Ohio’s 68th governor -- and am proud of my administration’s efforts to guide our state through the greatest national economic crisis since the Great Depression. With the help of my first lady -- Frances Strickland -- my dedicated and loyal Cabinet, and my incredibly hard-working executive staff, we held the ship steady."

Strickland had been considering another run for the governor's job for months, and had hinted at last year's Democratic National Convention that he was interested.

Recently retired Rep. Barney Frank admitted on Friday that he would like to serve as a temporary successor to Sen. John Kerry, the secretary of state nominee.

Speaking on MSNBC's "Morning Joe", Frank said that he had asked Massachusetts' governor Deval Patrick to appoint him to serve as the state's interim senator until a special election is held to fill Kerry's seat. Frank announced that he'd like to take Kerry's job temporarily only one day after his 32-year career in the House of Representatives ended.

If appointed, Frank would be the first ever openly gay male member of the U.S. Senate.

A spokeperson for Gov. Patrick said that he had no immediate comment. Under state law, Patrick will be required to fill the seat with an interim appointment if the Senate confirms Kerry as Secretary of State. The special election would then be scheduled between 145 and 160 days after Kerry's departure.

Frank had previously said that he did not want the appointment, but on Friday he noted that the fiscal cliff deal that was reached earlier this week to avoid tax cuts on most Americans also means that major spending decisions will be made in the next few months, and that is something that he'd like to be involved with. Frank said:

"A few weeks ago, in fact, I said I wasn't interested, which is kind of like you're about to graduate, and they said 'You have to go to summer school.' That deal now means that February, March and April are going to be among the most important months in American financial (history)."

Patrick has made it clear that he is planning to choose an interim senator who has no aspirations to run in the special election. The winner of the special election would serve out the remainder of Kerry's term, which ends after the 2014 election.