(Image source from: Presidential election campaign 2016 Hillary Clinton to contest})
"Hillary Clinton will end years of speculation about her political ambitions and formally announce she is running for president as early as this weekend," The Wall Street Journal reported.
Hillary Clinton is expected to announce her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 as early as this weekend, facing no substantial competition. Clinton is likely to make her intentions known through a social media announcement followed by campaign travel. Sources in the Clinton orbit said they were anticipating an imminent announcement but would not confirm a report in the New York Daily News that the announcement was expected latest by Sunday.
Guardian newspaper reported that Clinton would make her announcement on Twitter by noon Eastern Time on Sunday, while headed to the early voting state of Iowa, followed up by email and video announcements. In her previous presidential run in 2008, Clinton lost to the current president, Barack Obama, in part because of the Obama campaign's clever use of social media to draw attention to his candidacy and raise huge sums through small donations. Hence the focus will be on digital communications is an attempt to connect with young voters, who Clinton needs to become American's first woman president. Her campaign is expected to concentrate on making the 67-year-old former first lady relatable to ordinary Americans.
Clinton, wife of former President Bill Clinton, is the overwhelming favorite for the Democratic nomination and no other major Democratic figure has stepped forward to challenge her, although former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley has made moves toward a possible campaign.
She has struggled to get past the accusations that she might be too secretive based on the revelation earlier this year that she had gone against federal recommendations to use an official email account while at the State Department and instead using her own private server.
A Quinnipiac University poll released this week had the surprising result that she was even or only slightly ahead of some Republican contenders like libertarian Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. A recent poll by ABC News and Washington Post showed Mrs Clinton is ahead of potential Republican candidate Jeb Bush by a 54-to-40 per cent margin in a prospective match-up.
By Premji
