Hillary Clinton Advisers Woo Biden Backers, but Resistance Lingers, Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign is moving swiftly but delicately to try to win over Democrats who wanted Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to challenge her for the party’s nomination, assuring them that she shares his devotion to hard-working Americans and that the darkest days of her campaign are now behind her.
While some prominent Biden admirers say they will now support her, others are expressing reluctance, and several are resisting – citing concerns about Mrs. Clinton’s electability, the threat of the investigation into her email practices as secretary of state, or a lack of enthusiasm for a veteran combatant in the country’s political wars.Within minutes of Mr. Biden’s announcement on Wednesday that he would not run for president, senior Clinton advisers began contacting many of her central allies – donors, party officials and other well-connected figures – to strategize on the best ways to galvanize support from two critical groups: high-ranking Democrats who were waiting for Mr. Biden’s decision until choosing a candidate, and influential leaders and donors within the party establishment who were loyal to Mr. Biden.
While advisers said they wanted to give some of Mr. Biden’s most devoted supporters time to absorb the vice president’s decision, they did not wait to begin reaching out to others, or to uncommitted Democrats, to express admiration for Mr. Biden and attest to Mrs. Clinton’s commitment to the working-class and middle-class Americans with whom he has long identified.
No sooner had the vice president finished his remarks than Mrs. Clinton’s top aides and field organizers in Iowa began hours of phone calls to supporters of Mr. Biden. And some of her lieutenants in New Hampshire were calling and emailing uncommitted state lawmakers and county officials into the night to seek their backing.
Mr. Biden’s decision had earthquake-like magnitude in Hillaryland, as Mrs. Clinton’s closest supporters are collectively known. That it came a day before her testimony before the House committee investigating the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, only added to a palpable sense of momentum in Mrs. Clinton’s favor. Several Democrats also cited Mrs. Clinton’s strong performance in the Democratic presidential debate last week, saying the turn of events could come to be regarded as pivotal if she goes on to win her party’s nomination.
“That’s 3 for 3 – you’re batting 1.000,” said Gov. Jack Markell of Delaware, a supporter of Mr. Biden who said he would now back Mrs. Clinton. “This is somebody who has been tested. When she gets knocked down, she’s going to get back up.”
Lou Frillman, a Seattle-based donor who, along with his wife, Carol, raised over $700,000 for the Obama-Biden ticket in 2012, and who met with Mr. Biden last month to discuss the race, said he received calls from supporters of Mrs. Clinton on Wednesday and told them he would back her. But Mr. Frillman, like some other donors, also slipped in hints about his own expectations for Mrs. Clinton.
“We’re on board – and we believe she’ll be supportive of the president,” he said. (Mrs. Clinton has recently opposed Mr. Obama on the Pacific Rim free trade deal and come out against the Keystone XL pipeline, which the president is still considering.)
Other Clinton operatives, appealing to uncommitted Democrats, focused not on Mr. Biden but instead on the Benghazi hearing and on Saturday’s high-profile Jefferson-Jackson Dinner for the Iowa Democratic Party.
Leading one conference call, Jennifer Palmieri, the Clinton campaign’s communications director, argued that the Benghazi committee was facing credibility problems and that Mrs. Clinton’s speech at Saturday’s dinner in Des Moines would mark the start of “a new phase of the campaign” focused on winning the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses. An uncommitted Democrat on the call provided access to a reporter to listen; afterward, this Democrat still expressed reluctance to support Mrs. Clinton, citing the F.B.I. inquiry related to her email practices at the State Department.Such lingering questions have exasperated Mrs. Clinton’s supporters, but they see an opening now.
“The frustrating thing is that the policy she has laid out has gotten such little coverage because of the emails and this pretend Benghazi committee,” said Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri. “I think the debate is where she began to reassert herself as the most substantive, stable and strong Democrat in the race. And now, hopefully, with Joe’s decision, we can begin to focus not on the horse race and personalities but on policy.”
With Mr. Biden not running, the email inquiry may be the most significant potential obstacle for Mrs. Clinton, given that a damaging outcome would probably lead some Democrats to consider alternative candidates or even try to draft a last-minute white knight into the race. She also faces a spirited challenge for the nomination from Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, though his advisers had been hoping he would benefit from a split among moderate Democrats between Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Biden.
While some Clinton backers were privately hopeful on Wednesday that her strong October could let her lock down the nomination in a single month, other Democrats cautioned against presuming anything until votes are cast. And some who said they expected to wind up in Mrs. Clinton’s corner expressed misgivings about a speedier-than-expected end to the primary contest.
Representative Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, an admirer of Mr. Biden’s who on Monday predicted that the vice president would run, said that he expected to endorse Mrs. Clinton eventually but that he believed voters would benefit from a longer Democratic race.
“What Bernie Sanders is bringing up is really important to me, speaking to the angst that many Democrats feel about the economy,” Mr. Boyle said. “I think the debate that the Democratic candidates are still having is a healthy one for Americans to listen to.”
Some Biden backers and other uncommitted Democrats were more grudgingly resigned to embracing Mrs. Clinton. Jim Torrey, a financier and fund-raiser who supported Mr. Biden, vented about the lack of presidential options Democrats had – “We have no bench,” he said – and suggested he would focus more on helping the party take back control of the Senate.
“Will I write her a check?” he said. “I suppose I’ll be compelled to. But she has enough help. I’m interested in getting back five Senate seats.”
While some prominent Biden admirers say they will now support her, others are expressing reluctance, and several are resisting – citing concerns about Mrs. Clinton’s electability, the threat of the investigation into her email practices as secretary of state, or a lack of enthusiasm for a veteran combatant in the country’s political wars.Within minutes of Mr. Biden’s announcement on Wednesday that he would not run for president, senior Clinton advisers began contacting many of her central allies – donors, party officials and other well-connected figures – to strategize on the best ways to galvanize support from two critical groups: high-ranking Democrats who were waiting for Mr. Biden’s decision until choosing a candidate, and influential leaders and donors within the party establishment who were loyal to Mr. Biden.
While advisers said they wanted to give some of Mr. Biden’s most devoted supporters time to absorb the vice president’s decision, they did not wait to begin reaching out to others, or to uncommitted Democrats, to express admiration for Mr. Biden and attest to Mrs. Clinton’s commitment to the working-class and middle-class Americans with whom he has long identified.
No sooner had the vice president finished his remarks than Mrs. Clinton’s top aides and field organizers in Iowa began hours of phone calls to supporters of Mr. Biden. And some of her lieutenants in New Hampshire were calling and emailing uncommitted state lawmakers and county officials into the night to seek their backing.
Mr. Biden’s decision had earthquake-like magnitude in Hillaryland, as Mrs. Clinton’s closest supporters are collectively known. That it came a day before her testimony before the House committee investigating the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, only added to a palpable sense of momentum in Mrs. Clinton’s favor. Several Democrats also cited Mrs. Clinton’s strong performance in the Democratic presidential debate last week, saying the turn of events could come to be regarded as pivotal if she goes on to win her party’s nomination.
“That’s 3 for 3 – you’re batting 1.000,” said Gov. Jack Markell of Delaware, a supporter of Mr. Biden who said he would now back Mrs. Clinton. “This is somebody who has been tested. When she gets knocked down, she’s going to get back up.”
Lou Frillman, a Seattle-based donor who, along with his wife, Carol, raised over $700,000 for the Obama-Biden ticket in 2012, and who met with Mr. Biden last month to discuss the race, said he received calls from supporters of Mrs. Clinton on Wednesday and told them he would back her. But Mr. Frillman, like some other donors, also slipped in hints about his own expectations for Mrs. Clinton.
“We’re on board – and we believe she’ll be supportive of the president,” he said. (Mrs. Clinton has recently opposed Mr. Obama on the Pacific Rim free trade deal and come out against the Keystone XL pipeline, which the president is still considering.)
Other Clinton operatives, appealing to uncommitted Democrats, focused not on Mr. Biden but instead on the Benghazi hearing and on Saturday’s high-profile Jefferson-Jackson Dinner for the Iowa Democratic Party.
Leading one conference call, Jennifer Palmieri, the Clinton campaign’s communications director, argued that the Benghazi committee was facing credibility problems and that Mrs. Clinton’s speech at Saturday’s dinner in Des Moines would mark the start of “a new phase of the campaign” focused on winning the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses. An uncommitted Democrat on the call provided access to a reporter to listen; afterward, this Democrat still expressed reluctance to support Mrs. Clinton, citing the F.B.I. inquiry related to her email practices at the State Department.Such lingering questions have exasperated Mrs. Clinton’s supporters, but they see an opening now.
“The frustrating thing is that the policy she has laid out has gotten such little coverage because of the emails and this pretend Benghazi committee,” said Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri. “I think the debate is where she began to reassert herself as the most substantive, stable and strong Democrat in the race. And now, hopefully, with Joe’s decision, we can begin to focus not on the horse race and personalities but on policy.”
With Mr. Biden not running, the email inquiry may be the most significant potential obstacle for Mrs. Clinton, given that a damaging outcome would probably lead some Democrats to consider alternative candidates or even try to draft a last-minute white knight into the race. She also faces a spirited challenge for the nomination from Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, though his advisers had been hoping he would benefit from a split among moderate Democrats between Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Biden.
While some Clinton backers were privately hopeful on Wednesday that her strong October could let her lock down the nomination in a single month, other Democrats cautioned against presuming anything until votes are cast. And some who said they expected to wind up in Mrs. Clinton’s corner expressed misgivings about a speedier-than-expected end to the primary contest.
Representative Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, an admirer of Mr. Biden’s who on Monday predicted that the vice president would run, said that he expected to endorse Mrs. Clinton eventually but that he believed voters would benefit from a longer Democratic race.
“What Bernie Sanders is bringing up is really important to me, speaking to the angst that many Democrats feel about the economy,” Mr. Boyle said. “I think the debate that the Democratic candidates are still having is a healthy one for Americans to listen to.”
Some Biden backers and other uncommitted Democrats were more grudgingly resigned to embracing Mrs. Clinton. Jim Torrey, a financier and fund-raiser who supported Mr. Biden, vented about the lack of presidential options Democrats had – “We have no bench,” he said – and suggested he would focus more on helping the party take back control of the Senate.
“Will I write her a check?” he said. “I suppose I’ll be compelled to. But she has enough help. I’m interested in getting back five Senate seats.”
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