One is a former beauty queen. Another is a business icon.
Others are governors, senators and diplomats.
All of them are women.
The race is now on for John McCain and Barack Obama to choose a running mate and - call it the Hillary legacy - speculation is running wild that either, or even both, candidates will pick a woman.
Hillary Clinton may have failed in her bid to become the United States' first female president, but her ground-breaking campaign has paved the way for other women to get on the ticket as vice-president.
As the Clinton-Obama battle demonstrated, mobilising female voters with a strong woman candidate can be a powerful political tool.
Mrs Clinton's defeat by Mr Obama has left a large swath of disillusioned supporters who could be impressed by a candidate who picks a woman for the party ticket.
"There is a lot of advantage to be gained from it, especially on the Democrats' side," said Prof Tracy Osborn, a political scientist at the University of Iowa.
"They have a lot of people who backed Clinton recovering from a long fight.
Picking a woman might appease them."
Since Geraldine Ferraro became the only woman so far to appear on a presidential ticket, in 1984, the pool of possible women candidates - especially among governors - has grown enormously, and for both candidates the bounce earned by drawing on the talent pool could be considerable.
In a column last week, political writer Douglas Drenkow argued that it was vital for Mr Obama to pick a woman.
He needed to do so, Drenkow wrote, not just as a matter of Democratic politics but to lessen the impact if Mr McCain went with the tide and selected a female vice-presidential candidate.
"Do we Democrats want Republicans to beat us to the punch?" he asked on the website OpEdNews.
Top of potential Democratic picks is Kathleen Sebelius, Governor of Kansas.
She has shown the political nous to win popularity for Democrats in a state that in recent history has been strongly Republican.
At 60, and as a two-time governor, she would bring much-needed age and experience to Mr Obama's campaign.
But Ms Sebelius is not alone.
Another name being bandied around political circles is Claire McCaskill, a senator from Missouri.
Despite strong pressure to endorse Mrs Clinton, Ms McCaskill backed Mr Obama and helped him to win her home state.
Since then, she has been a highly visible campaigner for Mr Obama.
Missouri is likely to be a vital state in the November election and picking Ms McCaskill could boost Democratic chances there.
Finally, there is Mrs Clinton.
The narrowness of Mr Obama's win means that Mrs Clinton's name has to be on any shortlist for vice-president.
Picking her would perhaps offer the best chance of healing a divided party.
However, it would also bring problems, including the campaign role of Bill Clinton.
There is speculation Mrs Clinton does not want the job.
But no-one is ruling her out.
The former first lady could still return to the White House.
"It could still happen.
I was surprised by how quickly she got out there campaigning for Obama," Osborn said.
The Republicans, too, are mulling the advantages of putting a woman on the ticket.
If they did - and Mr Obama did not - it could be a major coup with undecided women voters.
The most intriguing Republican choice would be Carly Fiorina, the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, whom Forbes once called the most powerful woman in business.
She has become a powerful adviser to Mr McCain and has been travelling extensively with him in recent weeks.
Another possible female pick for Mr McCain is Alaska governor Sarah Palin.
She is the darling of the conservative wing of the Republican party, which Mr McCain is seen as needing to bolster.
Once a beauty queen in her home town of Wasilla, she has gone on to carve out an impressive career in the rough and tumble of Alaskan politics, earning a political image as a tough woman, famed for riding snowmobiles and eating moose burgers.
She is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association and has five children.
The political gossip blog Wonkette once dubbed her "America's hottest governor".
Given Mr McCain's age and crusty persona, a glamorous, dynamic female running-mate such as Ms Palin would be a presentational bonus.
Finally, there is also a groundswell of support in some Republican circles to get Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's name on the ticket.
Though Dr Rice has repeatedly stated that she has no interest in the job, several supporters' groups have sprung up to push for her.
Some experts believe that the vice-presidential choice, which both candidates will make before their respective party conventions, is hardest for Mr McCain.
His supporters are split along ideological grounds with conservatives whereas Mr Obama's are divided more on simple personality issues concerning himself and Mrs Clinton.
That could make Mr McCain's choice - whether a woman or not - more difficult.
"It is probably a much harder decision for McCain to make, and then there is his age.
McCain's pick is more likely to end up actually being president," said Prof Shawn Bowler, a political scientist at the University of California at Riverside.
Many of the female names in the hat are being considered for the traditional reasons involved in picking a running mate and not just as an exercise in gender outreach.
These include trying to "balance" a ticket by making up for a candidate's weakness.
Or coming from a potentially vital part of the country.
For example, both Ms Palin and Ms Fiorina would bring youth and excitement to a McCain campaign in need of both.
Ms Sebelius and Ms McCaskill are important to Mr Obama, not just because of their sex, but because they are older Democrats who have had great electoral success in relatively conservative parts of the US.
Mrs Clinton's campaign was by far the biggest blow yet against the political glass ceiling in America.
The battle for the respective vice-presidential roles is likely to reveal the extent of the cracks that have now appeared. - Paul Harris