Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said that while the 2008 Democratic presidential primary contest was “healthy,” he’s happy to report that former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential frontrunner, has a “clear field” this time around.
Mr. Reid, Nevada Democrat, called the 2008 Democratic primary between President Obama and Mrs. Clinton “healthy,” saying that it was between “two all stars — two people that will be in the political hall of fame no matter what happens [in] the future.”
“Right now, we have Hillary Clinton and that’s it,” he told Telemundo and MSNBC anchor José Díaz-Balart. “There’s not another Barack Obama out there — there are no all-stars out there. She has a clear field, and I’m glad she does.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has announced he’s running for president on the Democratic side in 2016, and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley is set to announce his 2016 plans at the end of the month. Others who could jump in include former Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia and former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee.
“I love Bernie Sanders — great guy, I’ve served with him here and he’s in the race and every place he goes, he develops conversation — that doesn’t hurt Hillary at all,” Mr. Reid said.
In a Fox News poll released this week, Mrs. Clinton was the choice of 63 percent of likely Democratic primary voters, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts — who has said repeatedly she is not running — the next closest at 13 percent.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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