Republicans really don’t want Hillary Clinton to run in 2016—really.
The former secretary of state has yet to announce whether or not she will enter a presidential bid, but a movement to stop her has already begun to form: on Thursday, the Republican super PAC America Rising launched “Stop Hillary 2016” in an effort to “prevent Americans from ever having to see another Clinton in the White House.”
The site goes on to say, “We’ve seen what a President Hillary Clinton would be like from her time as secretary of state. We can’t afford another Clinton administration after eight years of President Obama.”
Matt Rhoades, the campaign manager to Mitt Romney’s failed presidential bid, launched America Rising in March alongside two top staffers formerly with the Republican National Committee.
“We plan to start this enterprise because so many Republicans seem to agree that there is a need on our side of the aisle for an entity that is focused on solely holding Democrats accountable for their actions and records using research, candidate tracking, rapid response and digital tools,” Rhoades said in a statement following the launch.
The anti-Clinton efforts are just the latest actions to fuel 2016 speculation. Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill on Tuesday became the first sitting politician to formally endorse a Clinton presidency through the super PAC, Ready for Hillary.
In a statement posted to the super PAC’s official website, McCaskill said she was ready to help Clinton win should she decide to run. “It’s important that we start early, building a grassroots army from the ground up, and effectively using the tools of the Internet.”
McCaskill said she received a phone call from Clinton following her endorsement, but would not divulge the content of their conversation other than to say Clinton has “a big decision to make” and is in the process of making it. And just last week, the former secretary of state launched her own Twitter account with a bio alluding to a future “TBD…”
Traci Lee