Philadelphia Mayor Endorses Hillary Clinton
By Steve Tawa
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- In the Presidential sweepstakes, candidate Hillary Clinton once again will have key political leaders in her corner, as she looks for votes in Philadelphia.
Mayor Jim Kenney says he "shares" Hillary Clinton's "progressive vision and her quest to tear down barriers that deny opportunity, and exclude so many from access to the American Dream."
"Her accomplishments in her career are stellar. I think she's earned the right to be President," said Kenney.
In the Mayor's words, "I trust Hillary Clinton with our nation's future."
"She's probably the only person who could beat Donald Trump," said Kenney.
(Tawa:) "You're thoughts on Donald Trump, as a lot of folks at inception didn't think that he'd have this kind of lasting power."
"It's frightening. It's frightening that our country has gone in this direction."
Pennsylvania's primary is April 26th. More than two dozen states will have had their primaries by then. The pressing question is likely to be whether the former Secretary of State will have an insurmountable lead over Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in terms of delegates to secure the nomination.
"I do commend Bernie Sanders. He's energized a lot of young people, and people disinfected with what's being going on. I think he'll bring a lot of people to the polls."
In the 2008 Pennsylvania primary, many of Philadelphia's political elite - including former Governor Rendell and former Mayor Nutter - endorsed Clinton.
Then Councilman Kenney did not.
"I thought Barack Obama represented the best hope for our country at the time, and I'm very proud of his Presidency," said Kenney.
Rendell, the ex-mayor and former Democratic National Committee chairman, is backing Clinton again this time around.
We recall back in 2008, then-senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama generated quite a bit of buzz in the Democratic primary in the Commonwealth, because it was the only primary state in play for six weeks in that election cycle. Clinton won Pennsylvania, beating Obama by a roughly 10 percent, 55-45 percent.
But Obama won slightly more pledged delegates during the race than she did, securing the nomination.
To become the Democratic nominee for President, a candidate has to be nominated by a majority of delegates attending the Democratic National Convention, this year in Philadelphia, the last week in July.
