Hillary Clinton to Start 2016 Campaign in April, Politico Says

Hillary Clinton may start her campaign for the White House in early April with the involvement of her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and a strategy to court liberal Democrats, Politico reported.

Clinton approved a preliminary campaign budget and several key hires shortly after Christmas, signaling to advisers that her likelihood of running is 100 percent, according to the publication’s website Monday.

While many of Clinton’s top campaign advisers have already signed on under likely campaign chairman John Podesta, one new name being floated for communications director is White House Communications Director Jennifer Palmieri, Politico said. Bill Clinton has also been deeply involved in the campaign from the start, unlike when Hillary Clinton ran against Barack Obama in 2008 and he was isolated. He’s already warned her that Jeb Bush is the real Republican threat, with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie seen as “just a sideshow.”

The Clinton campaign’s strategy to avoid strong competition from the left is to court the party’s liberals, such as former Labor Secretary Robert Reich and civil-rights leader Representative John Lewis, the Georgia Democrat, according to the article. She’s already won the backing of former Howard Dean and Senator Al Franken, of Minnesota.