Bad news for Hillary Clinton's future political aspirations: the first possibly serious challenge to her drive to become America's first woman president has emerged on the political scene.
Jim Webb, former Democratic senator from Virginia, former secretary of the Navy and a Marine Vietnam veteran, announced at a speech at the National Press Club that he is "seriously considering" running for president in 2016, the
Daily Caller reports.
Webb, author of the recently published book "I Heard My Country Calling," who has been testing the political waters for months, giving speeches and campaigning for Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, says of Clinton's candidacy: "I'm not here to undermine her. I'm here just to explain where my concerns are as someone who's been involved in military and foreign policy all of my life,"
he told The Hill.
He will not run as an independent and risk splitting the Democratic vote, The Hill reported, quoting Webb as saying, "The answer is I'm a Democrat. I have strong reasons for being a Democrat. Basically, if you want true fairness in society, you want to give a voice in the corridors of power for the people who otherwise would not have it. I believe that will come from the Democratic Party. And we're taking a hard look, and we'll get back to you in a few months."
Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, told the Daily Caller, "If Jim Webb runs, he'll run flat out, and he won't hesitate to define his differences with Hillary Clinton. Webb is to her left some on foreign policy issues and to her right on Second Amendment issues. This would be a campaign worth seeing."
Webb, 68, told The Hill, "We want to see if there's a support base from people who would support the programs that we're interested in pursuing" before making a decision.
Breitbart News' Tony Lee wrote, "Webb's candidacy has the potential to make Clinton's life miserable, especially since Clinton is always the most uncomfortable when she tries to court liberals without offending moderates. And Webb, and his general unpredictability, has the potential to make Clinton seem more phony and out of touch."
"This is one fight Hillary Clinton does not want. If Republicans nominate a non-elitist candidate, a Webb candidacy has the potential to cost Clinton, if she gets the nomination, the general election."