2016 candidates build new financing system
By this time eight years ago, a slew of Democrats and Republicans had formally announced their candidacies for president or formed official committees. That is not the case this year. One reason is money, and if that sounds counterintuitive, welcome to the new world of presidential politics.
In the past, candidates often found it necessary to start their campaigns at the beginning of the odd-numbered year before the election year. Given the limits on how much money any individual could contribute and the amounts needed to sustain a successful campaign, that gave the candidates as much time as possible to hit their targets.