As 2013 winds down, the political world is already turning its attention to the 2014 and 2016 elections. HuffPost Live took a look Thursday at some of the rising political stars across the nation who will likely be making future headlines.
Kentucky Secretary Of State Alison Lundergan Grimes (D)
Grimes announced in July that she was challenging Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Polling has shown her running neck and neck with the incumbent, as she has tried to tie him to the government shutdown and challenged his record on fair pay legislation.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)
Early in 2013, Rubio was hailed as "The Republican Savior" by Time Magazine. By October his approval ratings had gone underwater. He also faced accusations of backing away from immigration reform, an issue he had been pushing hard to move forward in Congress.
But conservative writer & author A.J. Delgado told HuffPost Live on Thursday she still sees a successful political career in Rubio’s future.
"Rubio still has a stellar track record ... and is very, very likable," Delgado said. "I do see him rebounding this year -- not early on, but further on down 2014."
Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis (D)
Davis made national headlines after staging a June all-night filibuster of legislation that severely restricted access to abortions in the state. In October, she announced she was running for governor, and has received strong support from key Democratic figures including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Davis is currently trailing Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott, although the margin has varied significantly from poll to poll. While Davis has energized Texas Democrats, Delgado told HuffPost Live that Davis "has no shot" of defeating Abbott.
"You hear a lot about Texas eventually in the coming decades becoming a blue state, and that may very well be," Delgado said. "But in the current day, 2013, 2014, somebody like Wendy Davis ... has no shot and she has no reason to have a shot."