Hillary Clinton News Update: Former Secretary of State Endorses Bill de Blasio in NYC Mayoral Race
With a potential presidential run looming in the near future, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is staying active on the political front.
Bill and Hillary Clinton have friends all over the Democratic Party, so they didn't want to take sides during the recent primary race for mayor. But this week, the couple endorsed the new nominee, Bill de Blasio, who will face off against Republican counterpart Joe Lhota in the November election.
Two spokespersons for the couple, Matt McKenna and Nick Merrill, released a statement expressing the support for de Blasio.
"Bill de Blasio has been a friend to both President Clinton and Secretary Clinton for many years," the statement says. "They were proud to see him run a thoughtful, creative campaign about the issues, and they are behind him as he moves on to the general election as the Democratic nominee."
The Clintons had ties to former candidate Anthony Weiner, whose wife Huma Abedin has a history of serving as Hillary's aide. Weiner was once thought of as a favorite before his second personal scandal rocked the mayor race and sent him plummeting in the polls. He finished in fifth place in the race behind de Blasio, Bill Thompson, Christine Quinn, and John Liu.
According to NBC Chicago, Hillary drew a "large" crowd at the Chicago House's annual Speaker Series Luncheon earlier today. The tickets for the event were between $200 and $300 and all of the money is being sent to provide housing for people living with HIV and AIDS.
A recent national poll conducted by CNN indicated that 65 percent of Democrats and independents currently want Hillary to be the next president, even though she has not announced whether she wants to run.