|
 The former secretary of state's high ratings and connections to a
vast roster of major party contributors makes her the most sought
after surrogate for Democratic hopefuls in a difficult election
year. In contrast, President Barack Obama is expected to have a
muted role due to his dropping popularity.
While Clinton undoubtedly wants to see her party do well on Nov. 4,
a return to town halls and diners will give her a chance to test
speech themes and flex her retail politics muscles ahead of her own
likely run for president in 2016.
Clinton's last campaign was in 2008 and she has looked rusty as she
promotes her memoir "Hard Choices," stumbling over media questions
about her personal wealth and lucrative speeches.
Helping fellow Democrats will also bolster her existing network of
party allies throughout the country should she chose to make a White
House bid. But the former senator will have to pick her appearances
and endorsements carefully to avoid association with too many losing
candidates in the fall, when Republicans are tipped by pundits to
keep the House of Representatives and perhaps gain the six seats
they need to take control of the Senate.
 "I've heard from virtually every incumbent and candidate that she is
at the top of their list," said New York congressman Steve Israel,
chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.That
makes her more popular with House Democratic campaigns than former
President Bill Clinton, a veteran campaigner, although her husband's
approval ratings with the public are higher than hers.
Israel said Hillary Clinton had indicated to him her willingness to
get involved in the midterms, when traditionally the president's
party is more likely to struggle. "Hillary and Bill Clinton can go
into any battleground district in the United States and be an
asset," Israel said. "She helps turn out our base, she helps with
independent voters, she helps with fundraisers." Both the DCCC and
the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee are using Clinton's
book as a fundraising tool in emails to supporters. They ask voters
to submit their name for a chance to win a copy of the book, thus
building a list of her supporters who can be contacted to turn out
at the midterm election campaign.
"Ready For Hillary" - a well-funded group that supports a Clinton
2016 candidacy by identifying and organizing millions of voters
around the country - altered its federal registration in May so it
can be a vessel for funding midterms campaigns.The group has
contributed to state Democratic parties by sponsoring dinner and
convention sponsorships in states like New Hampshire, which is both
home to a contested Senate race in November and an influential
early-voting state that Clinton would aim to win in a presidential
race. Voters are slightly more likely to support a congressional
candidate backed by Clinton than by Obama, according to a March poll
by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News.
A quarter of voters said a Hillary Clinton endorsement could sway
them, compared to 22 percent for Obama. A separate Wall Street
Journal/NBC News poll showed 44 percent of voters view Clinton
positively and 37 percent see her negatively.
Seventy percent of Republicans and a chunky 40 percent of
independents said in that poll there was no chance they would vote
for Clinton in 2016, suggesting her main role in the midterms could
be to energize Democrats and raise funds rather than win over
undecided voters.
[to top of second column] |
READY FOR KENTUCKY?Kentucky Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes is a
prime example of a candidate keen to benefit from Clinton's heft.
"Alison thinks of Secretary Clinton as a mentor and has spoken with
her multiple times throughout the campaign," said a campaign aide
for Grimes. In a tough fight to win a U.S. Senate seat from Minority
Leader Mitch McConnell, Grimes has distanced herself from Obama,
whose tightening of regulation of power plants is deeply unpopular
in the coal-producing state.Though criticized by Republicans for
spearheading what they call Obama's feckless foreign policy, Clinton
is more distant from the president's domestic agenda like his energy
policy.
"President Obama's poll numbers are terrible (and) Democrats have
someone who does not have that same sort of popularity challenge,
but is still connected enough, and still seen as a very prominent
national figure. Essentially, she is presidential without all the
baggage the president has," said John Hudak, an expert on
presidential campaigns with the Brookings Institution.
But any run for the presidency could suffer if she backs candidates
that go on to lose, said Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf, who
worked on Bill Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign. "If there are
failures she can be blamed for them. The Hillary campaign team's
challenge is choosing seats that she can win," he said. Clinton made
Democrats nervous in May by saying in a Washington speech she would
"leave (the midterm) discussion to others," which was taken to mean
she would not spend much time helping Democrats.Further questions
about her involvement arose after the only candidate she has raised
money for - one-time representative Marjorie Margolies, the
mother-in-law of Clinton's daughter Chelsea - lost her Pennsylvania
primary vote.But Clinton is widely expected to wade in after she
finishes the national publicity tour for her book late in the
summer.
"She has always worked hard to advance Democratic candidates and
will do so again when the time is right," Clinton spokesman Nick
Merrill said.
Clinton has looked most vulnerable when discussing her personal
wealth and when Republicans pick at her foreign policy record on
Iraq, Russia and the 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in
Benghazi, Libya.
She was criticized as out of touch for suggesting in an interview
with The Guardian newspaper at the weekend that she was not "truly
well off."
The last time Clinton and her husband released tax returns, in 2007,
they showed the Clintons had earned $109 million jointly since 2000.
She has been giving a series of speeches that earn her up to
$250,000 each since leaving the State Department in 2013.
(Editing by Alistair Bell and Ross Colvin)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
