Clinton tries to capitalise on Trump’s troubles to win Congress
Hillary Clinton is pouring US$1 million into Indiana and Missouri in the campaign's final weeks — not because the Democratic presidential nominee thinks she can carry those reliably Republican states, but because she believes that, with an extra push, Democrats can win the Senate and governor's races there.
In Michigan, the Clinton campaign is propelling a late surge by Democratic state legislative candidates to regain their House majority. In parts of Maine, Nebraska, Virginia and other states, Clinton volunteers are touting Democratic congressional candidates in their phone calls and flyers to voters. And as Clinton rallied supporters across Pennsylvania yesterday with running-mate Tim Kaine, she touted Senate hopeful Katie McGinty and attacked her Republican opponent, Senator Patrick Toomey, as beholden to presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Emboldened by polls predicting an Electoral College landslide in the presidential race, Clinton is shifting her strategy to lift up other Democrats coast to coast. She and her party are rushing to capitalise on a turbulent turn in Trump's candidacy, which has ruptured the Republican Party, to make down-ballot gains.
For Clinton, the move is opportunistic and has governing implications. If elected, a mandate may not be enough for her to muscle a progressive agenda on immigration and other issues through a Republicancontrolled Congress. She would almost certainly govern more efficiently with Democratic majorities.
“Hillary recognises, as we look at the past eight years, how important it is to have allies and like-minded elected officials who can just help get things done,” Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said.
Flush with cash, the Clinton cam- paign is steering resources and deploying thousands of field staffers and volunteers to help Democrats secure the Senate majority and pick up seats in the House.
Mook estimates the campaign has spent more than US$100 million, in coordination with the DNC, to benefit other Democrats.
For months, Clinton talked about Trump as a singular threat, frustrating other Democratic leaders who saw an opportunity to turn voters' revulsion towards Trump into a broader rejection of the Republican Party. They argued that years of GOP extremism and strident opposition to President Barack Obama had paved the way for Trump's nomination.
But Clinton is starting to adjust her message slightly to condemn the GOP writ large and Obama is doing so more pointedly, shaming Republican politicians who have stood by Trump.