She’s already missed the deadline in California. And New Hampshire. And Alabama. And Arkansas. And Florida.
But some big deadlines are coming up fast. Most of the 10 other states set to hold their primaries on Super Tuesday, which is March 3, 2020, have ballot access deadlines in December, according to The New York Times.
So it’s simply a matter of timing. While Hillary might be loving all the attention, it’ll soon be time to fish or cut bait.
Clinton may already be planning to jump into the race, especially because the current crew of 16 candidates is not exactly wowing Democratic voters. Or she could just be milking the very last ounce of fame before she disappears forever.
As always, she’s playing coy as she stokes the mystery.
“I’m under enormous pressure from many, many, many people to think about it,” Clinton said in November.
“I, as I say, never, never, never say never,” she told the BBC. “But as of this moment, sitting here in this studio talking to you, that is absolutely not in my plans.”
That’s what they all say.
Other times, Clinton’s more direct. “Maybe there does need to be a rematch,” Clinton said in October on PBS. “Obviously, I can beat him again,” she said, referring to her receiving about 3 million more votes from Americans, although she lost the Electoral College vote 304-227.
Clinton — endlessly hawking books nowadays — appeared over the past weekend on a British TV show. Host Graham Norton asked about one of the subjects in her latest book, soccer star Abby Wambach, who retired with the tagline “Forget Me.”
‘Are you saying ‘Forget me’ now?” Norton asked her.
“Not yet,” Hillary said, prompting laughter and cheers.
She added that she has been “deluged” with questions about whether she is planning to jump into the race, but said again, “Right now, I’m not, at all, uh, you know, planning that.”
“I’d have to make up my mind really quickly, because it’s moving very fast,” Clinton said.
Indeed.
With several polls showing Joe Biden losing his edge in the polls and Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders having hit a ceiling, a late Clinton entrance is not inconceivable. Were she to jump into the race, Clinton, with her nationwide name recognition, could likely build a national campaign in short order.
And if she were to jump in, not being on a few ballots probably wouldn’t be a huge problem. After all, 65 million people voted for her in 2016, and with massive mainstream news coverage, voters could simply write in her name on ballots.
Richard Winger, editor of Ballot Access News, “noted that participating in any or all the primaries is not technically necessary to secure the party’s presidential nomination,” the Washington Examiner reported.
“Back in 1968, Hubert Humphrey didn’t run in a single Democratic presidential primary, but he still got the nomination,” Winger told the Examiner. “If the convention is deadlocked on the first ballot and even the second ballot, anyone can get nominated whether they run in the primaries or not. I mean, the real purpose of primaries is to choose delegates to the national convention, and the party can do what it wants once it’s in a convention, especially when they’re deadlocked.”
So the question remains: Will she or won’t she?