LAKE WORTH, Fla. — Hillary Clinton wanted to share her birthday with a special someone this week in Florida.
LAKE WORTH, Fla. — Hillary Clinton wanted to share her birthday with a special someone this week in Florida.
“One of the best gifts you can give yourselves would be sending Patrick Murphy to the United States Senate!” she told a crowd of supporters here in a college gymnasium.
While Clinton has taken care to mention fellow Democrats on the campaign trail — she usually starts her rallies by rattling off names of local officials, stealing glances at a list to make sure she doesn’t miss anyone — she recently started fusing her stump speeches with full-throated pitches for her party’s Senate candidates.
The decision represents a new facet of Clinton’s push for the White House as she tries to boost candidates like Murphy, who is attempting to unseat Republican Sen. Marco Rubio. She appears to be looking for ways to plow past the obstructionism that has plagued President Barack Obama, starting with a return to Democratic control of the Senate, and shoring up a base of support on Capitol Hill by helping Democrats get elected.
Republicans have controlled both chambers of Congress since 2015, giving them the power to block Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court and stall his choices for other federal judgeships. For years, the GOP has frustrated Obama’s efforts at policymaking, including comprehensive immigration reform or an overhaul of the criminal justice system.
There are signs they may keep the same tactics if Clinton is elected. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas suggested that the Supreme Court could continue operating with one fewer than its full slate of nine justices.
“Assuming Clinton wins, having a Democratic Senate is of paramount importance” for her policy agenda, said Allan J. Lichtman, a history professor at American University.
Democrats need to flip four seats to take control of the Senate if Clinton wins, giving them 50 total. Clinton’s running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, would be able to cast tie-breaking votes as vice president.
Clinton’s efforts on behalf of Democratic Senate hopefuls are also notable for the contrast with Trump, who never mentions his party’s Senate candidates at his rallies, where he functions more as a one-man show than a top-of-the-ticket nominee.
In turn, down-ballot Republicans have been forced into pretzel-like political contortions to avoid defending his most controversial comments while also maintaining the loyalty of Republican voters. After facing a barrage of questions about Trump’s insults of women, Latinos and other groups, many Republicans welcomed Friday’s revelation that the FBI was taking a new look at emails related to Hillary Clinton’s private server.
Some senators have chosen to stay away from Trump even if they plan to vote for him; Rubio, for example, didn’t join Trump at any of his events in six cities over three days in Florida this week.