California Senate race a tangle of competing loyalties for Clintons
Villaraigosa might be the most obvious front-runner to win the Clintons’ endorsement, considering he was a national co-chair of Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign. At the time, the endorsement of one of the country’s most prominent Latino leaders was a coup for the then-senator. The Clintons, and the former president in particular, have famously long memories for such loyalty.
“For Bill especially, the question when it comes to endorsing always seems to be, where were you in 2008?” said one California insider.
But then Villaraigosa will have to compete with Steyer, who was one of Hillary Clinton’s earliest, most committed, and most generous supporters. After giving her the maximum contribution and raising more from friends, Steyer stuck with Clinton until the bitter end of her campaign, before shifting support to Barack Obama, and has remained close with the former secretary of state ever since.
Steyer’s non-profit is a partner in the Clinton Global Initiative. Steyer’s top political advisor, Chris Lehane, is a former Clinton aide. Steyer’s brother, Jim, taught Chelsea Clinton as a student at Stanford. Hillary Clinton visited Steyer at his home in July. And they sat next to each other at a League of Conservation Voters dinner in New York in September.
And Steyer has made himself a force in Democratic politics, spending more in the 2014 midterm elections than any other donor of either party.
Harris’ San Francisco-based strategists, meanwhile, worked on Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign and are likely be involved again in 2016.
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/california-senate-race-tangle-competing-loyalties-clintons
