Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski told a group of Hillary Clinton supporters gathered in Baltimore County on Monday that Maryland would provide a "groundswell of grassroots" support for the former Secretary of State should she decide to run for president in 2016.
"We need Hillary," the Maryland Democrat and Senate Appropriations Committee chairwoman told about 100 people gathered at Goucher College for a fundraiser organized by the Ready for Hillary PAC, the group laying the groundwork for her possible candidacy.
"We've got to organize," she said. "We've got to mobilize."
Not mentioned by Mikulski or anyone else on stage was Martin O'Malley, Maryland's outgoing governor who is also weighing a run for president in 2016. The fundraiser was expected to draw several other high profile Democrats -- many of whom have worked closely with the O'Malley administration for years -- but only Mikulski showed.
"We can't go backward and we can't let anything grow under our feet," said Mikulski, who co-chaired Clinton's presidential campaign in Maryland in 2008. "We want her to know that there's a groundswell of grass roots support."
Early signs of support for Clinton among the congressional delegation that knows O'Malley best demonstrates the challenge the governor faces as he contemplates a possible White House run. Polls in early primary states show Clinton eclipsing O'Malley, despite his repeated appearances for congressional and gubernatorial candidates in the run up to this year's midterm elections.
Clinton is expected to make a decision early next year.
Mikulski has previously noted her support for Clinton's potential candidacy.
"I'm a Hillary person, so I know Gov. O'Malley is working hard to establish his national credentials," Mikulski told Politico in an interview earlier this year.
Maryland's other senator, Ben Cardin, was set to attend the event Monday but instead remained in Washington for votes on the Senate floor. Rep. John Delaney, the Montgomery County Democrat first elected in 2012 -- who also has close ties to the Clinton family -- is expected to host a similar fundraiser for the draft-Clinton effort this week.
Cardin has typically been cautious in supporting candidates during -- or ahead of -- primary elections. He did not back Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential campaign until June, a day before Clinton dropped out of the race. He also declined to engage in Delaney's competitive primary against a state lawmaker in 2012.
"Senator Cardin thinks Hillary Clinton's energy is positive for our party and our country," Cardin spokeswoman Sue Walitsky said in a statement. "He is excited about her potential candidacy."
A spokeswoman for O'Malley's federal committee declined to comment on the fundraiser.
O'Malley was an early backer of Clinton's 2008 campaign but Obama ultimately carried the Democratic Primary in Maryland that year with nearly 61 percent of the vote.
Tickets to the fundraiser cost $20.16.
Copyright © 2014, The Baltimore Sun
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