Hillary Clinton has been personally reaching out to prominent Democratic politicians who have endorsed her potential bid for the party’s 2016 presidential nomination.
The New York Times first reported that Clinton had called to thank Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for his support after Emanuel endorsed Ready for Hillary, the group building a grassroots base for a 2016 run, and a Clinton candidacy last month. The newspaper added that Clinton had done the same for earlier endorsers, which include Sens. Claire McCaskill, Tim Kaine and Chuck Schumer, among others.
An aide to one of the high-profile early Clinton endorsers confirmed to TPM that Clinton had privately reached out after the endorsement was reported.
Publicly, Clinton has kept her distance from the early 2016 preparation, and she is legally prohibited from coordinating with a super PAC like Ready for Hillary.
“I am so appreciative of everybody who is encouraging me,” Clinton said this week in an interview with ABC News’s Diane Sawyer. “I’m grateful that they have that confidence in me. But this is a really personal decision.”
Ready for Hillary staff have frequently made appearances at Clinton’s public events in recent months to sign up supporters for a 2016 bid, and the group has been following Clinton via bus to most of the stops on her ongoing book tour.
