BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Hillary Clinton is now shifting her focus to Alabama and other Southern states in an attempt to potentially offset setbacks in the Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire primary, where Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is slated to do very well, according the New York Times.
Clinton’s advisers are assuring supporters that strong victories in the South will help her clinch the nomination for president. In interviews with several publications, staffers said the campaign is devoting significant resources to win the “First in the South” South Carolina primary on February 27th, 2016, while also working to sweep Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia in the SEC Primary on March 1st.
The Southern Super Tuesday, new to the 2016 race, has greatly increased the importance of the southeastern states to presidential candidates as evidenced by the multiple visits from candidates courting the votes of Alabamians during the last few months. This consolidated election day now separates the South for the same reason that Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and other states receive national attention—momentum.
“There’s so much focus on Iowa and New Hampshire, but Secretary Clinton and her team know that the South will deliver a huge number of delegates that will essentially seal the nomination for her,” said DuBose Porter, the Georgia Democratic Party chairman and a Clinton supporter.
Clinton’s advisers anticipate these eight Southern primaries will provide hundreds of delegates for Clinton, which will add to the goal of approximately 2,200 delegates needed for Clinton to receive the nomination.
Clinton’s campaign is reportedly centered around building a “political firewall” across the South in hopes of attaining the Democratic nomination despite any potential setbacks in the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. Since most Southern states are voting earlier than in past nominating cycles, these states are even more crucial than usual for a presidential nominee to target and secure.
A recent poll from ABC News-Washington Post, suggests Clinton may still have steep hill to climb, as 53 percent of Americans rate her unfavorably, with her decrease in popularity noted as a result of her email controversy while serving as Secretary of State. However, the poll also states that Clinton is “particularly strong in her party, seen favorably by 80 percent of Democrats.”
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