Hillary Clinton hasn’t even declared her bid for the 2016 presidential nomination, but big-name Democrats are already racing to support her.
Clinton is the odds-on favorite to win the Democratic nomination for president, with her only real competition so far appearing to be Vice President Joe Biden and former Virginia Senator Jim Webb, the latter of whom has formed an exploratory committee. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Al Franken (D-Minn.) have already declared their support for Clinton, according to Fox News.
It’s often a good idea to get on the bandwagon early, as such support can be rewarded with good jobs in the presidential administration, or political favor with the winning candidate, as memories are long in Washington.
However, Clinton has an impressive list of endorsements so early on, even before officially announcing her candidacy. Kaine told female Democrats in South Carolina many months ago that Clinton was the “right person for the job,” and that he is encouraging her to run.
It may be a safe bet to throw support her way, as she currently enjoys 61.5 percent of the likely vote for her candidacy, according to one poll, which is 49.2 percentage points ahead of her closest challenge, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who hasn’t even indicated an interest in running for president.
This doesn’t mean a lot can’t change in the run up to the election, especially with so much time remaining. Clinton also enjoyed a large lead during her 2008 presidential run, but saw it evaporate to popular progressive challenger Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).
Franken threw his support behind Clinton, saying that while Warren is great, she is also not running.
The grassroots campaign is often referred to as “Ready for Hillary” and is aimed at getting Clinton to run. It includes a Political Action Committee (PAC) that has 2 million supporters and 50,000 donors that have contributed $4.43 million, according to the Federal Election Commission.
