by Bill O’Grady

In the spring of 2014, we wrote a series of Weekly Geopolitical Reports that looked at the 2016 elections.  In these reports, we described the economic and political environment that had the potential to make the 2016 election historically important.  The emergence and remarkable staying power of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders suggests that our earlier analysis and conclusions may be coming to pass.

In this report, we will recap the economic and political factors that led us to conclude last year that the next presidential cycle could be unusually significant.  From there, we will look at the unlikely rise of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders and what their success thus far signals about the electorate and the next presidential election.  Finally, we will analyze their potential impact on the election, including the possibility that each might mount an extra-party candidacy.  As always, we will conclude with market ramifications.

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