Webb exits Dem race, mulls independent run
Candidacy fails to gain traction with the public
WASHINGTON — Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb’s long-shot quest for the Democratic presidential nomination ended on Tuesday much the same way it began, on a defiantly — some might say unreasonably — optimistic note.
Webb, who served as secretary of the Navy in the Reagan administration before representing Virginia in the Senate for one term, said that over the next several weeks he would speak with leaders from both parties and weigh a run as an independent.
“A number of people reached out and encouraged me to run as an independent,” he said, flanked by his wife, Hong Le Webb, at a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington.
An independent candidacy would require stateby-state efforts to get on the ballot, a huge and expensive undertaking that Webb has few resources to accomplish. He has about $315,000 in his campaign bank account.
Nor has his candidacy demonstrated much evidence of a public demand for him as a candidate. In four major polls released this week, he averaged support from just over 1 percent of Democratic voters.
Although a growing number of Americans call themselves independent, the vast majority lean either to the Democrats or the Republicans. The voting behavior of those who do have a leaning is nearly the same as that of acknowledged partisans, undercutting the idea that a large well of unaffiliated votes exists for an independent candidacy to tap.
Poll puts Clinton way out in front
Aided by her performance in the first Democratic debate, Hillary Rodham Clinton has regained much of the ground she lost during a summer of controversy and holds a dominating lead nationally over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the contest for her party’s presidential nomination, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.
By a margin of better than 2-to-1, Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents rated Clinton over Sanders as the winner of last week’s debate in Las Vegas.
Clinton leads the Democratic race with 54 percent support, according to the poll; Sanders has 23 percent support.
During last week’s Democratic debate, Webb and former Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee were often overlooked, leading to complaints from Webb about not getting enough time.
On issues from affirmative action to gun control, Webb found himself out of step with most Democratic voters — something he acknowledged Tuesday.
“I fully accept that my views on many issues are not compatible with the power structure and the nominating base of the Democratic Party,” he said. “That party is filled with millions of dedicated, hardworking Americans. But its hierarchy is not comfortable with many of the policies that I have laid forth.”
Webb insisted a thirdparty run could find traction with voters.
“Americans are disgusted by all this talk of Republicans and Democrats calling each other the enemy instead of reaching across the aisle and finding ways to work together,” he said. “The other party in America is not the enemy; they are the opposition. In our democracy we are lucky to have an opposition, in order to have honest debate. It’s creative. It’s healthy.”
Asked how he might fare in a hypothetical matchup against Hillary Rodham Clinton as the Democratic nominee and Donald Trump on the Republican side, Webb was chipper.
“I could see us beating both of them,” he said.
— Washington Post