The Adventures of Bill and Hill: Where the Clintons Hit The Trail in 2014
They have traveled the equivalent of twice around Earth campaigning this year.
— -- In life, everyone needs a wingman. And for Democrats courting voters this year, that person is Bill or Hillary Clinton. In some lucky cases both.
Each with their own packed itinerary, the Clintons have crisscrossed the nation this midterm cycle, headlining events on behalf of Democratic candidates at a pace that has only become more feverish in the homerun stretch leading up to the election.
On Wednesday, when Hillary Clinton swings through Iowa, Bill Clinton will hit California after events today in Colorado, and Nevada. This coming weekend, when she is in Kentucky, Louisiana and then New Hampshire, he'll make last effort stops in Georgia and Iowa. By Election Day, the Clintons are expected to have campaigned for a total of more than 30 different candidates across roughly 25 states. Since September, they’ll have logged more than 50,000 miles, equivalent to roughly two trips around the globe.
Even the former president has poked fun at how often he’s been trotted out to offer support. He told a crowd at a recent New Hampshire fundraiser, “I feel like an old racehorse in a stable and people take me out and take me on the track and slap me on the rear to see if I can run around one more time.”
Here’s an interactive map showing where they campaigned this year:
Clintons as Democratic Wingmen
As President Obama’s poll numbers plummet, with an approval rating that remains in the low 40’s, Bill and Hillary Clinton have become the most sought after Democratic surrogates of the midterm cycle for candidates trying to woo voters – and raise money.
On one lucrative day in California last week, Hillary Clinton headlined a DCCC event in San Francisco, which according to the group raised $1.4 million, and later that night a DSCC event in Hollywood that reportedly raised a “record” $2.1 million. (A spokesperson for the group told ABC News the DSCC does not disclose their financial figures, however acknowledged that the Clintons have been “enormously helpful” in their election efforts.)
Hillary 2016?
This schedule has its advantages for the Clintons, too. While out on the trail Hillary Clinton’s been honing a message during her stump speech that could very likely develop into her platform for 2016 should she announce a presidential run.
This message, focused on domestic issues such as working families, equality for women, and investment in the future, uses her granddaughter Charlotte as an emblematic talking point. “You should not have to be the grandchild of a president to get a good education, get good healthcare, have good job opportunities, have a family that can protect, nurture and prepare you for life,” she said during rousing remarks at a campaign rally for Pennsylvania governor candidate, Tom Wolf, earlier this month.
Of course, every appearance she makes on the trail is also one more opportunity to make a flub. (Just yesterday, for instance, she had to backpedal on a line she made last week about jobs that drew backlash from the GOP and even raised eyebrows by some of Wall Street’s most prominent Democratic supporters.) But that appears to be a risk she's willing to take.
As of now, Hillary Clinton has yet to announce her own plans for the future, and out on the trail Clinton will say she has only one mission in mind: 2014.
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