By one conservative estimate, there are 21 people in the running for president of the United States. Of those, 16 are Republicans. There are so many candidates, The New York Times had to run a piece called "Who is running for president?" This poses a problem for responsible voters — there just aren't enough hours in the week to get to know all these people. But The Verge is here to help.
Fortunately we have monolithic algorithms that can reduce human beings to sortable bits of metadata. We are pleased to provide voters with this ranking of 2016 presidential candidates based on our proprietary Verge Electability Score™: a 100-point score based on an arbitrary qualitative analysis of Google Image Search's recommended related topics. For instance, here's what we see when searching for the incumbent, President Barack Obama:
Obama, as a two-term president, receives an electability score of 200 / 100.
The Democrats
Lincoln Chafee
Keywords: FAMILY, 2015, 2016
Who is Lincoln Chafee? We're not sure. He appears to be the only member of his family, and it's difficult to know in which year he's actually running for president. As far as we know there's no 2015 presidential election. Highly unelectable.
Electability Score: 5.6 / 100
Martin O'Malley
Keywords: FAMILY, POLAR BEAR, ABS
Maryland has never produced a US president, but that might change very soon. Martin O'Malley makes a strong showing out of the gate — look at that beautiful family! look at those abs! — and we're ready to say that he's the dark horse in the Democratic race. Is America ready for a hot president?
Electability Score: 88.3 / 100
Bernie Sanders
Keywords: QUOTES, 2016, SOCIALIST
Bernie Sanders is the current liberal darling of the Democratic field, and receives a small boost in our ranking for strong performance in image macros. However, he receives a substantial penalty for forcing voters to read.
Electability Score: 32.1 / 100
Joe Biden
Keywords: YOUNG, TATTOO, FAMILY
You might think Joe Biden could be the young cool guy president, but check it: several of these photos are clearly in black and white. And the one in color is clearly a Photoshop from The Onion. Joe isn't fooling anyone. He also hasn't decided if he's running.
Electability Score: 2.5 / 100
Hillary Clinton
Keywords: YOUNG HILLARY AND BILL, 2016, PANTSUIT
A pantsuit for every mood of the electorate. Highly electable.
Electability Score: 92.7 / 100
The Republicans
Jeb Bush
Keywords: FAMILY, GEORGE W BUSH, SON
Is George W. Bush really a magician who conjures a brother named Jeb? Does it matter? Will America elect anybody named Bush? Yes.
Electability Score: 84.2 / 100
Ben Carson
Keywords: TWINS, FAMILY, OPERATING
Is Ben Carson running for president, or for patriarch of a '90s sitcom?
Electability Score: 12.4 / 100
Chris Christie
Keywords: WEIGHT LOSS, BASEBALL, EATING
Christie hits two of America's favorite pastimes.
Electability Score: 66.6 / 100
Ted Cruz
Keywords: TATTOO, FAMILY, COLORING BOOK
Cruz's coloring book is a strong play for the youth vote. Unfortunately these youths have not reached voting age.
Electability Score: 8.3 / 100
Carly Fiorina
Keywords: 2015, 2014, 2013
Wanted: Somebody to go back in time with me and elect me president. This is not a joke. P.O. Box 322, Oakview, CA 93022. You'll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. Safety not guaranteed. I have only done this once before.
Electability Score: 88.8 / 100
Lindsey Graham
Keywords: AIR FORCE, JOHN MCCAIN, SMILE
By default, Graham's points are awarded to John McCain, who is not running for president.
Electability Score: 0 / 100
Mike Huckabee
Keywords: BOOK, WEIGHT, FAMILY
Huckabee is so boring he exposes a flaw in The Verge's scoring system.
Electability Score: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ / 100
Bobby Jindal
Keywords: WIFE, OBAMA, DUCK DYNASTY
By mixing Obama with Duck Dynasty, Jindal is a volatile mixture, likely to explode in the polls. Duck and cover.
Electability Score: 7.3 / 100
Rand Paul
Keywords: WIFE, FAMILY, SON ARRESTED
A beautiful couple. A beautiful family. A son they can't control.
Electability Score: 29.4 / 100
Marco Rubio
Keywords:
Marco Rubio is the only candidate in the election without Google Image Search categories. Our understanding is that this makes him constitutionally ineligible to run for president of the United States.
Electability Score: Disqualified
Rick Santorum
Keywords: FAMILY, DAUGHTER, SWEATER VEST
Rick Santorum has come from behind to defeat an extensive troll to sexualize his last name in Google Search results. The sweater vest candidate makes a strong showing.
Electability Score: 82.5 / 100
Rick Perry
Keywords: GUN, GLASSES, CORNDOG
With this spread, Perry has all but secured the Texas vote, and possibly sections of Brooklyn that misidentify him as a hipster.
Electability Score: 81.8 / 100
Donald Trump
Keywords: HAIR, HOUSE, CARS
As General Patton said, "Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser." As it appears Donald Trump has won the lottery. We sadly concede that Donald Trump will become the next president of the United States.
Electability Score: 99.6 / 100