« Previous Entry | Main | Next Entry »

Posted: February 11, 2008 4:31 PM
Clinton Replaces Campaign Manager Before Potomac Primaries
Email This

Sen. Hillary Clinton made a top-level campaign switch up on Sunday, shifting campaign manager responsibilities to Maggie Williams, the senator’s former While House chief of staff, from her longtime aide Patti Solis Doyle.

“Patti Solis Doyle has done an extraordinary job in getting us to this point — within reach of the nomination — and I am enormously grateful for her friendship and her outstanding work,” a Clinton statement read.

The move came as Clinton faces a continued close race for delegates with her rival Sen. Barack Obama, who will enter the next nominating matchup fresh off a four-state sweep in nominating contests over the weekend.

Democrats in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia vote on Tuesday in what journalist have coined the “Potomac primaries.” Both candidates have campaigned heavily in the region and former president Bill Clinton visited churches in the District of Columbia on behalf of his wife on Sunday.

Clinton pushed for a head-to-head debate before Tuesday, but Obama declined.

“We’re disappointed that Senator Obama would deny the voters of Washington, Maryland and Virginia an opportunity to see the candidates debate side-by-side before they head to the polls on Tuesday,” Clinton campaign spokesman Mo Elleithee said. “Senator Clinton is happy that she will have the opportunity to participate in this forum regardless. The voters deserve no less.”

In lieu of the debate, the campaign planned a “candidate forum” in the shape of “an interview with Hillary Clinton.” It will air on local ABC News stations and be streamed on Politico.com.

The senator will continue campaigning throughout Monday, visiting employees at GM Allison Transmission in Baltimore, Md. and giving a guest lecture at the University of Virginia to Larry Sabato’s class.