Endgame: 40 Percent of Congressional Democrats Already Endorsed Hillary

Daniel Doherty | April 16, 2015 11:30 AM

In fairness, the field lacks an abundance of credible and inspiring candidates. But c’mon.

Game, set, match?

Ninety-three lawmakers have endorsed Hillary Clinton’s 2016 run for president, locking down nearly 40 percent of all Democrats in Congress, according to a survey by The Hill.

Sixty-five House lawmakers, more than one-third of the 188 Democrats in the chamber, as well as 28 senators, more than 60 percent of the upper chamber’s 46 Democrats, are in the former secretary of State’s camp.

Fourteen of the 23 current Democratic senators who served alongside Clinton during her tenure in the upper chamber are also backing her bid.

There is nowhere near as much uniformity on the Republican side of the ledger. The field is growing each and every day, and ranges from staunch Tea Party conservatives to more establishment types. Moreover, there is more than one kind of candidate for every ideological bent, or political persuasion, Republican voters may be looking for. GOP primary-goers therefore will have as many as a dozen different candidates to choose from, from all different regions of the country. Needless to say, this is why most Congressional Republicans (although not all) are hedging their bets and aren't serving as surrogates yet. It’s simply too early in the nominating process to start taking sides.

Some have argued—rather persuasively, I might add—that the Democratic primary was effectively over when Hillary announced she was running for president. Watching the Democratic establishment line up like sheep behind her certainly reinforces that belief. I guess we really shouldn’t be surprised.