Hillary Clinton Seen Launching Presidential Bid in AprilMove would ease uncertainties in the Democratic Party and rev up front-runner’s fundraising
By PETER NICHOLAS and CAROL E. LEE
March 1, 2015
Clinton aides have spoken of the earlier timetable in private meetings, according to people engaged in recent discussions about the presumed Democratic front-runner’s emerging 2016 campaign. Many within her camp have advocated her staying out of the fray until the summer.
Jumping in sooner would help the Democratic field take shape, reassuring party leaders and donors that the former first lady, senator and secretary of state is running. A super PAC loyal to Mrs. Clinton has faced hesitation from donors who don’t want to make big pledges until she is a candidate. Such concerns would evaporate after she announces.
Hillary Clinton at the Watermark Silicon Valley Conference for Women on Feb. 24 in Santa Clara, Calif. ENLARGE
Hillary Clinton and her close advisers are telling Democratic donors that she will enter the presidential race sooner than expected, likely in April, a move that would allay uncertainties within her party and allow her to rev up fundraising.
But Mrs. Clinton would become an even larger target for Republicans when she enters the race. She also would be pressed to opine on a raft of thorny issues in the news, including how to combat the military advances of Islamic State militants in the Middle East.
One influential proponent of an earlier announcement is John Podesta, who is expected to play an important role in Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign, one person familiar with the matter said. Mr. Podesta, who in January resigned as senior adviser in the Obama White House, declined to comment, as did a spokesman for Mrs. Clinton.
Many Democratic activists say they would like to see the race begin in earnest—something that won’t happen until Mrs. Clinton jumps in.
Mrs. Clinton “should get in right now. If she’s going to run, get a campaign going,” said Jason Frerichs, a county Democratic chairman in Iowa, the state that holds the first contest of the 2016 campaign.
Mrs. Clinton, according to some close associates, doesn’t relish the campaign trail and is in no particular hurry to announce, especially given the scant competition for her party’s nomination. Most polls show Mrs. Clinton running far ahead of her nearest potential challenger, Vice President Joe Biden .
“She’s obviously biding her time before she gets out there,” said Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, a Democrat.
Mrs. Clinton, 67 years old, made known her feelings about grueling campaigns in a private meeting last month with London Mayor Boris Johnson. Mr. Johnson later said she had bemoaned the lengthy U.S. presidential campaigns.
During her 2008 bid, she teared up at a campaign event in New Hampshire when describing the rigors of campaign life: lack of sleep, an overreliance on pizza and limited ability to exercise.
“If I were taking this on, seeing what candidates went through last time around, I’d sure want to put it off as long as I could,” said Doug Goldman, a major fundraiser for President Barack Obama who lives in San Francisco. At this point in the 2008 cycle, Mrs. Clinton already was a candidate.
Hillary Clinton, who has bemoaned long presidential campaigns, speaks in December at the Massachusetts Conference for Women in Boston.
Mrs. Clinton’s team has considered first forming an exploratory committee, a common in-between step candidates use to signal they are running while avoiding the formal launch of a campaign. But her camp now appears likely to scrap that idea.
A later entrance into the race comes with certain perils. She hopes to raise more than $1 billion for the campaign, people familiar with her plans said, and some Democratic donors are concerned that if she waits until the summer, she would be hard-pressed to meet that goal.
Mr. Obama’s campaign collected $716 million during the 2012 race, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
With no apparatus in place, Mrs. Clinton also has a limited capability to rapidly respond to potential threats to a campaign. Republicans and even some Democrats have questioned the foreign contributions collected by her family’s charitable foundation, as recounted in a spate of recent news stories.
As yet, the response from the Clinton side mostly has come in the form of prepared statements from the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation.
Behind the scenes, the Clinton team is busy preparing for the race. Mrs. Clinton has been meeting with numerous policy experts as she crafts a message and platform. Close adviser Huma Abedin has been holding private meetings with supporters the campaign would call on for help after it is officially under way. Several donors described Ms. Abedin’s meetings as outreach to various constituencies who would prove helpful in winning the election.
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