Hillary Clinton Advisers Woo Biden Backers, but Resistance Lingers

Last edited Thu Oct 22, 2015, 10:16 PM - Edit history (1)

By PATRICK HEALY and JONATHAN MARTINOCT. 22, 2015

Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign is moving swiftly but delicately to try to win over Democrats who wanted Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to challenge her for the party’s nomination, assuring them that she shares his devotion to hard-working Americans and that the darkest days of her campaign are now behind her.

While some prominent Biden admirers say they will now support her, others are expressing reluctance, and several are resisting – citing concerns about Mrs. Clinton’s electability, the threat of the investigation into her email practices as secretary of state, or a lack of enthusiasm for a veteran combatant in the country’s political wars.

Within minutes of Mr. Biden’s announcement on Wednesday that he would not run for president, senior Clinton advisers began contacting many of her central allies – donors, party officials and other well-connected figures – to strategize on the best ways to galvanize support from two critical groups: high-ranking Democrats who were waiting for Mr. Biden’s decision until choosing a candidate, and influential leaders and donors within the party establishment who were loyal to Mr. Biden.

While advisers said they wanted to give some of Mr. Biden’s most devoted supporters time to absorb the vice president’s decision, they did not wait to begin reaching out to others, or to uncommitted Democrats, to express admiration for Mr. Biden and attest to Mrs. Clinton’s commitment to the working-class and middle-class Americans with whom he has long identified.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/23/us/politics/hillary-clinton-joe-biden-presidential-election.html?_r=0