Politics
Hillary Clinton Vows to Continue Battle for White House
By Ann Turner

May 8, 2008

Hillary Clinton

Even as one of her longtime supporters, former senator George McGovern, begged Hillary Clinton to drop out of the presidential race, the former First Lady vowed to continue the fight on Wednesday. Reeling from a huge loss in North Carolina to Barack Obama and a narrow win in Indiana in Tuesday’s primary contests, Clinton said that she will remain in the presidential race “until there’s a nominee.”  

While rival Illinois Senator Barack Obama racked up at least four more superdelegates on Wednesday, Clinton disclosed that she had loaned her campaign an additional $6.4 million in the past few weeks to keep her presidential dreams alive.  

Clinton previously contributed a $5 million loan to her campaign and has faced ongoing hardship in equaling Obama’s massive fundraising efforts. Clinton said the additional loan to her campaign demonstrated her commitment to continue the fight for the White House, according to The Associated Press.  

Following his strong showing in North Carolina and his tight second place finish in Indiana on Tuesday, Obama paraded out a slew of superdelegate endorsements on Wednesday. North Carolina Democratic Party chairman Jerry Meek, North Carolina Democratic National Committee member Jeanette Council and California DNC member Inola Henry were among those announced.  

The struggling Clinton campaign had hoped for a higher percentage win in Indiana to garner more support going into the remaining primary contests and perhaps persuade more superdelegates to join her cause. However, Clinton only managed to squeak a victory in Indiana by a narrow margin over Obama. In North Carolina, Clinton suffered a disappointingly wide loss, with Obama taking an even larger margin of victory than anticipated.  

The Clinton campaign received another heavy blow on Wednesday when former presidential candidate and former senator George McGovern changed his allegiance from Clinton to Obama. McGovern, a longtime supporter of Clinton, withdrew his endorsement for the New York senator and announced he would now be backing Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination. McGovern said he believed Clinton had virtually no chance of winning and encouraged her to drop out of the race.  

“She has run a valiant campaign,” McGovern said, according to the Times Online. “Hillary, of course, will make the decision as to if and when she ends her campaign. But I hope that she reaches that decision soon so that we can concentrate on a unified party capable of winning the White House next November.”  

Even though the results from Tuesday’s primaries were grim, Clinton is not ready to take herself out of the presidential race. Speaking in Shepherdstown, West Virginia on Wednesday, Clinton told reporters she would be “staying in this race until there’s a nominee.” Clinton senior campaign advisor Howard Wolfson stated on Wednesday that there were no discussions currently of Clinton dropping out, according to The Washington Post.  

However, not all of Clinton’s closest supporters are whistling the same tune. One anonymous Clinton strategist told The Washington Post that there is “no path to victory” for Clinton. “I also believe she wants to see a Democrat win in November and she will do the right thing.”