Twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton urged supporters on Monday to elect a Democratic presidential nominee who can win the Electoral College vote in 2020 against President Donald Trump.
“We have to hope that whoever ends up nominated can win the Electoral College,” Clinton told a crowd while promoting her new book, “The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience,” while in Denver, Colorado. “I think several of our candidates could win the popular vote but as I know … that’s not enough.”
The former secretary of state famously won the popular vote in 2016 by receiving more than 2.8 million more votes than Trump, but she ultimately failed to secure the presidency after she fell far short of the required absolute majority of 270 electoral votes needed to win.
“I don’t think we have a choice — we have to win” Clinton urged the crowd of nearly 2,000 people. She further noted that while Democrats need to “work hard for your preference in the primary,” they should also make sure to “close ranks behind whoever is nominated.”
Clinton has reportedly been considering jumping into the crowded Democratic primary field herself and running for the presidency for a third time. In October, Clinton teased a possible presidential bid after Trump urged her to enter the race.
“You know, it truly is remarkable how obsessed he remains with me. But this latest tweet is so typical of him. Nothing has been more examined and looked at than my emails. We all know that. So, he’s either lying or delusional, or both. There was no subpoena, as he says in a tweet this morning,” she said at the time. “So, maybe there does need to be a rematch. I mean, obviously, I can beat him again. But, just seriously, I don’t understand, I don’t think anybody understands what motivates him, other than personal grievance, other than seeking adulation.”
Clinton’s remarks come amid mounting concerns that many of the Democratic hopefuls that are popular with the primary voters may be too progressive to win in a general election. Former Vice President Joe Biden, who has been occupying the more moderate lane of the primary, currently stands as the frontrunner, but his campaign has failed to excite the Democratic base.
Biden has consistently been leading his Democratic primary challengers in national polling, but has been lagging in many early states. However, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who has been routinely polling in second place and gaining momentum, is one of the weakest candidates in a head-to-head match-up against Trump in the battleground states.
If Clinton decided to join the race, she could be jumping in as a frontrunner — a hypothetical match-up between herself and Biden in the Democratic primary showed that the two are virtually tied for the nomination. A Harvard Harris poll conducted in mid-October found that 18% of Democrats would throw their support behind Clinton, trailing Biden by only one point and within the margin of error.
“Do not let anyone you know vote third party,” Clinton added at her book promotion event Monday.