By Matt Jackson, Columnist
This past Sunday, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that she is officially seeking the Democratic party’s nomination for the upcoming 2016 presidential election. Her announcement comes following intense scrutiny from Republicans who criticized Clinton for using her private email to handle state matters during her time as Secretary of State. Although, Clinton has been considered the democratic frontrunner long before last Sunday’s announcement, many of her supporters had begun to doubt a presidential run following last month’s scandal.
Clinton, who ran for the presidency in 2008, had previously stated her disinterest in seeking the position again after losing the nomination to current president, Barack Obama, in 2008. However, in recent months as discussions began for who was most qualified to lead the country following President Obama, Clinton has been an overwhelming favorite amongst her supporters in the democratic party. As momentum has built in favor of Clinton across the nation, supporters have eagerly awaited this announcement.
Clinton is currently unopposed in the democratic party for the nomination, and could remain that way. While others have openly discussed their consideration for seeking the democratic nomination, many of them have also stated that they would not run if Hillary chose to. This overwhelming support from the democratic party appears to be working well in Clinton’s favor. In recent nationwide polls, Clinton stands well above her fellow democrats as the favorite for the nomination. However, Clinton’s toughest role will be convincing Republicans her administration will not be a repeat of Obama’s largely unsuccessful one.
As the current frontrunner for the 2016 election, Clinton has acknowledged that earning support from those outside her party will be tough. The political environment of the upcoming election is also radically different than the one she faced during the 2008 election season. This time around, the Republican party holds a majority in both Houses and is also largely favored to win the presidency in 2016. With that being said, Republicans face the issue of being unified under one candidate.
With potentially dozens of republicans seeking their party’s nomination for the presidency, many within the party struggle with choosing one candidate to support. With this issue ahead, republicans face an aggressive campaign over the next year from those who seek their party’s nomination. However, on the opposing side democrats are largely united under one candidate, Hillary Clinton. In doing so, democrats may have found the secret to winning the upcoming election. While many may negatively compare Clinton to President Obama, her plan to run a more low key campaign that caters to the personable side of her leadership could easily earn Clinton more supporters.
Clinton’s strategy for running a successful campaign this time around is to rely heavily on the support she already has within her party. Rather than aggressively debate with other democratic opponents, Clinton will most likely remain her party’s frontrunner due to the unprecedented support she currently has. With a united democratic party supporting her, Clinton’s opposition will come mainly from her many republican opponents. However, with her vast experience in debating those within the republican party, Hillary Clinton appears to be well prepared to combat the opposition she will undoubtedly face.