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 The 1.6-million-member AFSCME's endorsement represents a boost in
Clinton's efforts to woo labor and lock down a key Democratic
constituency. Unions are typically a major source of volunteers and
fundraising for Democrats in presidential elections.
The endorsement is the latest sign of a resurgence by Clinton, who
had been dropping in opinion polls just weeks ago but lately has
benefited from a standout debate performance as well as the exit of
a major potential rival.
"I can understand the Clinton supporters would be euphoric about
this," said James Campbell, a professor of political science at the
University at Buffalo, SUNY.
But, he added, baggage that party stalwarts might overlook - such as
the controversial use of her own email server while she was
secretary of state - could be tougher in a general election.
 "You can get too wound up in enthusiasm and look past some of the
real problems that can be down the road," he said.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
said it had gathered feedback from members over six months. Polling
data showed a majority of members would support Clinton in the
Democratic primary.
"What we also heard was AFSCME members want the candidate who will
be the most effective champion for working families, and who will be
able to deliver a victory in this critically important election,"
union president Lee Saunders said in a statement. "AFSCME members
believe that candidate is Hillary Clinton.”
The decision was not without dissent within AFSCME. Union members
had started a petition asking leadership not to endorse yet,
according to Labor for Bernie, a volunteer group of labor activists
supporting Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders' presidential run.
Clinton's poll numbers slid ahead of the first Democratic debate on
Oct. 13, but a solid performance there gave her a lift among her
party's voters.
Just over a week later, an emotional Vice President Joe Biden,
standing in the Rose Garden of the White House with President Barack
Obama, said after months of deliberation that he would not enter the
2016 race.
His decision removed a major potential obstacle to Clinton's hopes
to avoid a protracted, damaging primary fight.
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And on Thursday, Clinton's cool-headed testimony before a sometimes
testy, 11-hour Congressional hearing on Benghazi earned her not just
compliments but cash: The hour after the hearing ended was the
campaign's best fundraising hour, even without a specific
fundraising appeal.
Nevertheless, Sanders, who is pressing Clinton on her left, also
gained support after Biden's announcement.
Sanders has collected union endorsements of his own, including
National Nurses United and local unions throughout the country.
And Clinton's gains have not translated to social media, according
to data compiled by Thomson Reuters.
Sentiment in tweets mentioning Clinton or her official Twitter
handle was slightly more negative during the month through Thursday
night than in September, data showed. Using a proprietary algorithm,
Thomson Reuters classifies Twitter posts as positive, negative or
neutral and calculates an overall sentiment score.
Forty-seven percent of Democrats favor Clinton as a nominee, versus
31 percent for Sanders, according to a five-day rolling poll by
Reuters/Ipsos through Oct. 23.
(Reporting by Luciana Lopez; Additional reporting by Amanda Becker
and Alana Wise; Data compiled by Connie Yee, Thomson Reuters F&R;
Editing by Bernadette Baum and Christian Plumb)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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