The news cycle in the past week has not been kind to Hillary Clinton. There were the crushing defeats in the contests over the weekend, the signs of tumult at headquarters as her campaign manager was replaced. Unfortunately for her, today isn’t shaping up to be much rosier. Clinton’s campaign is expecting another string of defeats in today’s Potomac Primary, as voters head to the polls in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. “We’ve got this run where it’s not going to be good for us,” says one campaign adviser who declined to be named discussing internal matters. Among the pre-eminent challenges the campaign is facing right now, the adviser says: “the national media chatter” about Clinton’s waning fortunes, and “nervous supporters.” As a result, the candidate has been phoning backers and superdelegates to reassure them that her campaign is righting itself. “She’s trying to keep their eye on the ball, which is the long march to delegates,” says the adviser. “Hearing about management changes helps with some donors.”
Already, the campaign is trying to steer the discussion away from the Potomac to points west and south-most importantly, Ohio and Texas, which vote on March 4. Clinton’s advisers believe she should do well in those delegate-rich states because of the large portion of working-class (Ohio) and Hispanic (Texas) voters, among whom she’s performed strongly. Though Obama may well emerge from today’s contests with yet another burst of momentum, Camp Clinton argues that voters in the March 4 states will base their decisions on pressing issues like jobs and health care, which they say benefits them. “We think they’re going to take it seriously and not be swayed by a popularity contest,” says the adviser. Given the perception that Clinton’s campaign is on the ropes, the burden is on her to win those primaries. “If we don’t win,” says the adviser, “we’re going to get more pressure” from all that pesky media chatter.
