Washington Post political reporter Nia-Malika Henderson told CNN's John King that after the 2014 midterm elections, it was clear that the "old Clinton magic doesn't really work."
Henderson claimed that Clinton supporters feel Hillary would do well among "southern, white working-class voters," but that the Republican sweep in Kentucky, Arkansas and Georgia had shown otherwise.
"If you look at the way the Democratic brand did in these states among white voters--completely wiped out among white voters," Henderson said. "Can she still make that argument that she can win in a place like Kentucky?"
Politico's Manu Raju said Democrats "didn't really have a message" in 2014, which posed a problem for Clinton's 2016 ambitions.
"They tried to make it a state by state race and a contrast between each of these candidates, they've railed against the Koch brothers, they talked about the minimum wage, but what was the overarching theme?" Raju said. "That's what Hillary is going to have to worry about come 2016--what is she running on, and what does the [Democratic] party stand for?"
Associated Press reporter Julie Pace said 2014 was a repudiation of Obama, prompting Clinton to attempt distancing herself from her former boss.
"She's not going to get a lot of questions from Democrats about why she's doing that," Pace said. "This election showed he is unpopular, and if a Democrat wants to win in 2016, they're going to have to have a different message and just act differently than he has in the past few years."