10 who might have an impact on 2016 campaign

WASHINGTON (AP) - In the year that will pass before the 2016 campaign for president formally kicks off with the votes in the Iowa Caucus, any number of candidates, donors, political operatives - and people who have nothing to do with American politics - will shape the race for the White House. Here's a look at 10 people (OK, 12 people) who will be worth watching in the next year.

1. Elizabeth Warren, Potential Rival

The populist senator from Massachusetts is, at the dawn of 2015, the only person who appears able to mount a competitive challenge to Hillary Rodham Clinton in the race for the Democratic nomination. The architect of President Barack Obama's consumer financial protection agency, Warren would be able to quickly raise millions from an already enthusiastic following. She has repeatedly insisted she is "not running for president," but her consistent use of the present tense has left some liberals begging her to get into the race.

2. Steve Robertson, Backroom Ally

The bespectacled chairman of the Republican Party of Kentucky will have a busy 2015 - thanks in no small measure to the political aspirations of the state's junior senator, Rand Paul. As Robertson works to elect a Republican governor for only the second time in 44 years, he will have to figure out whether to help Paul run for president and re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2016 - something nominally barred by Kentucky law. Options include moving up the state's primary or changing the party's rules, but no matter what path Paul's team takes, Robertson will be the man selling it to the public.

3. Paul Fishman, Prosecutor

As U.S. attorney for New Jersey, Paul Fishman is leading the federal criminal investigation into a scheme to create traffic jams on a bridge that links New Jersey with Manhattan - a political scandal that still hangs over the political ambitions of Gov. Chris Christie. There is no evidence linking Christie directly to the effort to tie up traffic on the bridge, but even if he is formally cleared by Fishman, the federal prosecutor could announce a string of indictments against the governor's former staffers, aides and appointees just as he's announcing his candidacy for president.

4. John Podesta, Steady Influence

A senior adviser to President Barack Obama, Podesta is a trusted Democratic counselor and environmental policymaker who served as Bill Clinton's White House chief of staff. Podesta has said he doesn't intend to leave the White House until Obama's mid-January State of the Union address and could serve as Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman. If he joins the campaign, Podesta would provide stability to an organization that was plagued by infighting in 2007 and 2008 and could help Clinton navigate the party's liberal wing and the final term of Obama's administration.

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10 who might have an impact on 2016 campaign