Hillary Clinton is fundraising this week in California. (Mark Lennihan, AP)
Hillary Clinton is meeting with potential super PAC donors this week, a sign that she is escalating efforts to raise big sums for her 2016 presidential bid.
Clinton is slated to meet with donors to Priorities USA Action during a fundraising swing this week in California, according to a person who is familiar with the gatherings but is not authorized to discuss them publicly.
Clinton was in San Francisco on Wednesday, where she was attending previously scheduled fundraising events for her campaign at the homes of billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer and Esprit co-founder Susie Tompkins Buell. On Thursday, Clinton attends fundraisers in the Los Angeles area.
Clinton’s move to engage super PAC donors comes as the Republicans vying for the presidency appear to amass huge sums for a race that is expected to shatter fundraising records. Republican Jeb Bush has not officially entered the contest but recently told supporters that he had set fundraising records for a GOP candidate. The former Florida governor has appeared at fundraisers for a super PAC, Right to Rise, established by his allies.
In addition, Republican-aligned outside groups are expected to spend heavily to help one or more Republican candidates. Billionaire Charles Koch recently told USA TODAY that his expansive political network would spent roughly $300 million on electoral politics.
Clinton’s overtures to the super PAC donors first were reported by The New York Times.
Priorities USA Action, a super PAC initially launched to aid President Obama’s re-election in 2012, raised little money in 2014 to avoid siphoning funds from congressional elections. When news broke recently that Guy Cecil, the political director of Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, was likely to join the Priorities’ team, it was widely viewed as a signal to potential donors that the super PAC had Clinton’s endorsement.
Clinton decision comes as she also tries to highlight what she has called the “dysfunctional” campaign-finance system and to build her own program of fundraising that relies on relatively modest donations.
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