Clinton Rides AFT Support to Key Wins on Super Tuesday
The AFT's campaign on behalf of Hillary Clinton moves on to a whole new set of states after Super Tuesday, when the union's endorsed candidate won victories in key primaries, including New York and California, and emerged with a lead in the delegate count.
"The results again show that voters across the nation recognize Hillary Clinton has the strength and experience to move America forward," AFT president Edward J. McElroy said. "AFT members and other voters are responding enthusiastically to Clinton because they know she is ready to turn the economy around, expand access to healthcare and improve America's standing in the world."
As in earlier states where Clinton won, including New Hampshire and Nevada, the union's member-to-member outreach program for Super Tuesday included mailings, phone banking and canvassing to educate members about the issues and encourage them to support Clinton.
In addition to the convincing wins in California and in her home state of New York, where New York State United Teachers and the United Federation of Teachers in New York City ran an aggressive campaign on her behalf, Clinton scored an impressive victory in Massachusetts. The economy factored large in Massachusetts, where Clinton highlighted concrete strategies to help victims of the "subprime" crisis in housing, to win universal healthcare and to invest in "green-collar jobs." "We've got some serious economic issues here, and Hillary's message was powerful,” said Tom Gosnell, president of AFT Massachusetts.
Clinton also won in Arizona, Arkansas, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Her strong performance in states where she didn't win also meant she collected about half of the pledged delegates in additional states.
"As the campaign progresses, the AFT will continue to mobilize members on Hillary Clinton's behalf," McElroy said.
Over the next seven days there are several primaries and caucuses, including the so-called Chesapeake primary on Feb. 12 of Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. Looking ahead, the delegate-rich states of Ohio and Texas vote on March 4, with Pennsylvania set for April 22.
McElroy also is urging AFT members to make a contribution to Clinton's campaign. She has raised closed to $8 million since Super Tuesday but needs additional funds to successfully compete in the upcoming primaries and caucuses. Individuals may contribute up to $2,300 for the primary. The quickest way to make contributions to the campaign is by using this link. [Dan Gursky, Mike Rose, AFT public affairs department]