Top officials and donors likely to be involved in a potential Hillary Clinton presidential run will gather in New York City Friday for a meeting of the pro-Clinton super PAC Ready for Hillary.
The group’s national finance council will meet behind closed doors at a Times Square hotel all day for a program that will feature panels of top Democratic strategists, along with speeches from elected officials who are supporting the former secretary of state. In addition to former Clinton aides like Craig Smith and Harold Ickies, and Obama field guru Mitch Stewart — all of whom have already been deeply involved with Ready for Hillary — the meeting will also feature other strategists who might be involved in an official campaign.
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That includes outgoing Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Executive Director Guy Cecil, California Democratic strategist Ace Smith, Emily’s List President Stephanie Schriock, and former Clinton aide and msnbc host Karen Finney. Paul Begala and James Carville, the dynamic duo who worked on Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, will also be on hand.
Ready for Hillary, which started in January of 2013, has been working to build a list of grassroots supporters and gather endorsements of Clinton.
Other super PACs backing Hillary Clinton will also be represented. David Brock, who founded the pro-Clinton rapid response group Correct the Record will speak at the event. Priorities USA, the high-dollar super PAC that ran devastating ads against Mitt Romney, has now pledged support for Clinton. The group will be represented at Friday’s gathering by executive director Buffy Wicks and fundraiser Jonathan Mantz.
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Chris Lehane, a Clinton White House aide who now advises Democratic mega-donor Tom Steyer will participate in a panel as well. Also Obama Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, a former governor of the key early presidential state of Iowam will speak about why he’s “ready for Hillary.”
The meeting will also include dozens of major donors to the super PAC.
While the super PAC is likely to wind down its operations soon, the people present Friday will likely all be involved in a Clinton presidential run, thus the meeting may help lay some framework for a coming campaign.
Alex Seitz-Wald