Eyeing several big wins in key Northeastern state primaries on Tuesday, Hillary Clinton now finds herself walking the delicate political tightrope between gently courting Sen. Bernard Sanders’ progressive supporters for her general election bid while also trying to elbow the Vermont senator out of the race.
Mrs. Clinton’s campaign has in recent days used something of a good-cop, bad-cop strategy in its approach to Mr. Sanders, who has vowed to take his presidential bid all the way to the Democratic convention in July, despite having little realistic path to the nomination.
Clinton supporter David Plouffe, who managed then-Sen. Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, tweeted late last week that Mr. Sanders is committing “fraud” by continuing to solicit donations and telling voters he has a shot at overcoming Mrs. Clinton. Other Clinton campaign officials also have stated they believe Mr. Sanders is vastly overstating his chances of actually winning the nomination.
At the same time, Mrs. Clinton herself has largely shifted away from her primary opponent on the campaign trail and is training her fire on potential November opponents such as Republicans Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz. And on Monday, her campaign released a new TV commercial — airing in Pennsylvania, Maryland and other states voting Tuesday — titled “Love and Kindness.”
The ad centers on themes of togetherness and unity, and while it doesn’t explicitly call on Democrats to come together for the general election campaign, it does implicitly call on Sanders supporters to back Mrs. Clinton.
“Let’s break down barriers so we can all rise together … America is stronger when we are all supporting one another,” the ad says in part.
SEE ALSO: Bernie Sanders leads Hillary Clinton by 4 points in Rhode Island: poll
Political analysts say Mrs. Clinton must be careful in the coming weeks. It’s important, they say, for the former first lady to treat Mr. Sanders and his supporters with respect, but at the same time she must also begin painting the Democratic primary contest as essentially over and do all she can to shift attention to the fall.
“She’s got to be careful about paying deference not just to him but to his supporters. He’s won millions of votes and he’s done so quite unexpectedly. Equally important, he’s generated passion and enthusiasm,” said Matthew Dallek, an assistant professor of political management at George Washington University. “I think she obviously needs to do everything she can to send olive branches his way without obviously looking like she’s abandoning where she’s been. She’s already moved fairly far to the left on a number of issues … The symbolism of how she winds this down and attempts to unify the party” is very important moving forward.
Tuesday’s contests are expected mark another major step forward in Mrs. Clinton’s march to the nomination. Five states go to the polls, and Mrs. Clinton holds massive leads in the two biggest.
In Maryland, Mrs. Clinton leads Mr. Sanders by 24 points, according to the most recent Real Clear Politics average of all polls. In Pennsylvania, she leads by about 17 points.
Connecticut, Rhode Island and Delaware also go to the polls Tuesday, but Pennsylvania and Maryland are by far the biggest delegate prizes.
The Sanders campaign has begun to acknowledge that its chances are slim. On NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, the senator admitted that he has a “narrow path to victory” but he maintained that he’ll fight until the convention.
SEE ALSO: Bernie Sanders fighting for Democratic nod ‘until the last vote is cast’
His campaign on Monday ignored the “fraud” charges leveled by Mr. Plouffe and continued asking supports to send money.
“At every event, with crowds as large and excited as at any point in this campaign, people are telling Bernie to fight. To fight for every last delegate, and for every last vote,” Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver said in a fundraising email. “Not just because they’re needed to win, but because each one sends an unmistakable message about our country’s need for transformational change.”
As of Monday, Mrs. Clinton had 1,944 delegates compared to 1,192 for Mr. Sanders, according to an Associated Press tally. The totals include Mrs. Clinton’s 516 superdelegates, and Mr. Sanders’ 39.
Among pledged delegates, she leads 1,428 to 1,153.
About 463 delegates are at stake in Tuesday’s slate of primaries, including 210 in Pennsylvania and 118 in Maryland.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.