Continuing a discussion about potential female candidates for 2016, here's an idea for finding other possibilities: Raid the diplomatic corps. Few of us know the names of these people, but by my count there are around 50 female ambassadors, any one of whom knows more about the planet than your average Republican. And if you go with an Ambassador, you don't need to worry about what happens to an empty seat in Congress.
Here's several names to start with...
(1) The current ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power:
... Power's office focused on such issues as the reform of the UN; the promotion of women's rights and LGBT rights; the promotion of religious freedom and the protection of religious minorities; the protection of refugees; the campaign against human trafficking; and the promotion of human rights and democracy, including in the Middle East and North Africa, Sudan, and Burma. She is considered to be a key figure within the Obama administration in persuading the president to intervene militarily in Libya.[2] As of 2014, she is listed as the 63rd most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.[3] ... Power has written or co-edited four books, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide, a study of the U.S. foreign policy response to genocide.
(2) Deborah K. Jones:
Deborah K. Jones is an American diplomat currently serving as United States Ambassador to Libya.[1] [2] Prior to her appointment in Libya, she was the United States Ambassador to Kuwait from 2008 to 2011.[3]
It strikes me that some experience in the middle east might be relevant.
(3) Tracey Ann Jacobson:
Tracey Ann Jacobson is an American diplomat and a former United States Ambassador to both Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.[1] She also served as the Deputy Director of the State Department's Foreign Service Institute, and currently serves as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo.
Knowing your way around the 'stans isn't a bad thing, either.