Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) issued a full-throated endorsement Saturday for a Hillary Clinton presidential bid, predicting that the White House is hers for the taking in 2016.
“I am urging Hillary Clinton to run for president, and when she does, she will have my full and unwavering support,” Schumer said at a Democratic fundraiser in Des Moines, Iowa, according to the Washington Post. “Run, Hillary, run. If you run, you’ll win, and we’ll all win.”
Schumer said that the former secretary of state has the clout to “vanquish” the likes of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and the tea party. Following a government shutdown brought on last month by Cruz’s ill-conceived campaign to defund the Affordable Care Act, Schumer said the junior Texas senator and the tea party “have peaked.”
“With a strong platform and with Hillary leading the charge, we will vanquish the Ted Cruz, Tea Party Republicans in 2016 and create a generation of Democrats who will make sure the middle class gets what it needs, our country advances and the torch held by that beautiful lady in New York’s harbor burns more brightly than ever,” Schumer said in Iowa.
Democrats have widely shared Schumer’s optimism about Clinton’s anticipated presidential run, but cracks have recently emerged on her once-sparkling public standing. A poll last week showed her favorability rating among all Americans dropping 10 points in only a few months.
Other prominent Democrats have encouraged Clinton to run in 2016. In June, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) endorsed “Ready for Hillary,” the super PAC urging Clinton to launch a White House bid. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has also said that Clinton would win if she were to run for president.
