The chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said Thursday that he ‘welcomes’ the participation of Barack Obama and Bill and Hillary Clinton in 2018 campaign efforts.
“We welcome support from everybody who wants to help, including Secretary Clinton and President Obama,” Senator Chris Van Hollen (D., Md.) told reporters at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast this morning. Asked about Bill Clinton specifically, Van Hollen said the former president’s help would be appreciated as well. “As the head of the DSCC, we welcome those individuals and everybody that wants to help.”
However, Van Hollen added, it will be up to individual candidates to accept or decline offers of support from top Democrats.
“I think she’s going to continue to reach out to candidates and let them know that she’s ready to help in any way that she can,” Van Hollen said of Mrs. Clinton. “These are really conversations that go on between Secretary Clinton or President Obama and the particular campaign.”
Clinton yesterday rejoined the political fray, endorsing New York governor Andrew Cuomo over his Democratic primary challenger, actress Cynthia Nixon. “We need leaders who stand up for progressive values and stand up to those who try turn neighbor against neighbor and sow seeds of division,” she said at a Long Island speech announcing the endorsement. “Most of all we need leaders who believe in producing results and getting things done.”
Since her crushing defeat to Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, murmurs have increased among Democrats that Clinton’s time in the party limelight might be over.
Senator Heidi Heitkamp earlier this year said that the former secretary of state cannot go away “soon enough.” Patty Solis Doyle, Clinton’s 2008 campaign manager, was even more blunt.
“Look, this was bad. I can’t sugarcoat it. She was wrong and clearly it’s not helpful to Democrats going into the midterms and certainly not going into 2020,” Doyle said earlier this month.
“I think the party has moved on from Hillary Clinton,” a former senior Clinton aide said.
Correction:
A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Clinton’s former communications adviser, Philippe Reines made the comment attributed to a former senior Clinton aide.