Energy stocks have gotten clobbered this year. This is because weakness in China and a strong dollar caused commodity prices to deteriorate. Will this continue into 2016? There are many different factors which will determine energy stock prices, one of which is the 2016 Presidential Election in November of 2016. The current favorite to win is Hillary Clinton. She is assured to win the Democratic nomination. The Democrats have a 57% chance of winning the presidency. On the Republican side, the 3 favorites are Rubio, Cruz, and Trump. Usually the GOP is the party which would cause energy stocks to increase because of their positive viewpoints on capitalism. The most impacted industry from a political perspective is the coal industry which has been decimated under the Obama administration. An election of Hillary would spell the end for coal stocks. The GOP may not be able to save coal stocks, but if either Rubio or Cruz were elected they would have a pop which would be big because they are so beaten down. If Trump gets elected, it's impossible to predict what would happen to energy because his rhetoric borders on hysteria. The conclusion from this situation is to consider buying some dividend paying energy stocks like BP and Royal Dutch Shell, but not to overweight the sector because Hillary is currently the favorite. If you have done analysis on why Rubio or Cruz will win the election, then I would advise waiting until a few months before the election and buying Peabody stock. PS: You can get the updated data on the US Elections on Pivit.io and Realclearpolitics.com