Hillary Clinton has not announced she is seeking a 2016 presidential bid, but some IU students have already formed a group in support of her candidacy.
Sophomores Morgan Mohr and Jason Shader Smith started Students for Hillary at Indiana University this year to gather support for Hillary’s possible presidential run.
“We want to work tirelessly to encourage her to run and to build a list of supporters in the case that she does,” said Mohr, a political science and history major.
Shader Smith, a student in the Kelley School of Business, said the group is ideal for people like him who are ambivalent about affiliating with a political party but want to be involved in supporting Hillary.
“I am not a strong Democrat, but I am a strong Hillary Clinton supporter,” he said.
Mohr and Shader Smith both have experience with political activism on campus.
Last year, Mohr was the lead campus organizer for Freedom Indiana, the campaign against HJR-3.
Shader Smith is the campus legislative coordinator for the Indiana-Israel Public Affairs Committee, an affiliate to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which Shader Smith said is the second most powerful lobbying group in the country.
Mohr and Shader Smith suggested their early effort in organizing the group is a part of their strategy to help Hillary gain support at IU.
“Since Hillary is by far the best candidate for 2016, we are personally invested in her candidacy,” they said in a joint statement to the IDS. “In the case that she does run, we want IU to be ready.”
Mohr and Shader Smith said this fall they want to support voter registration efforts, build a list of supporters on campus and be host to multiple events.
“In order to build a list of supporters, we are focusing on tabling outside high traffic areas and events and coordinating with supportive groups such as the College Democrats,” they said.
Mohr and Smith said the group plans to fundraise not only for Hillary’s possible campaign, but also for the Clinton Foundation.
The Clinton Foundation works in many different areas including economic development, increasing opportunities for women and girls and combating climate change, according to its website.
“Due to the fluidity of Hillary’s situation, we have flexible goals and will be taking things semester by semester,” they said.
The group launched a Facebook page last month to garner interest in its cause and to make announcements.
The page had 42 ‘likes’ as of Monday afternoon, and group leaders will be at the Student Involvement Fair on Wednesday to recruit more members.
So far, posts include a call-out to apply for the group’s executive board. Applications were due Friday, but Mohr said positions are still open.
Advertised positions include Director of Finance, Director of Voter Registration, Director of Community Outreach, Women’s Outreach Director, Minority Outreach Director, Director of Communications, Director of Recruitment and College Democrats Liaison.
One person who has already ‘liked’ the page is junior Johnathon Lowery, who said he joined the group to help raise awareness about Clinton’s strengths.
“I have always thought that Hillary would make an excellent candidate for president and think that sharing that with other college students is important,” he said.
Lowery said he does not believe the group is premature. He pointed to a recent Huffington Post article about Clinton attending a Democratic Party fundraiser in Iowa, an important primary state, as a sign she may be revving up for a presidential run.
“In my opinion, it is very likely she will run even if the official announcement has not come out,” he said.
