OKLAHOMA
CITY – Today (Sunday, February 21), former President Bill Clinton
will come to Oklahoma, rallying support for his wife, former
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is seeking the Democratic
presidential nomination.

Oklahomans
in both political parties will vote on March 1, a day when the
process to choose the next president of the United States accelerates
with primary elections across the South.

Mr.
Clinton will address a “get out the vote” rally scheduled for
Northeast Academy, 3100 N. Kelley, at 8 p.m. Doors will open at 7
p.m.

While
in the city, he will attend a private fundraiser hosted by Cliff and Leslie Hudson. Cliff is chief executive officer of the Sonic Corporation,
with headquarters located in Bricktown.

According
to the most recent opinion poll in the Sooner State, Mrs. Clinton
holds a narrow lead over Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. She had 46
percent support among Oklahoma Democrats, to 44 percent for Sanders
in the survey conducted by Public Policy Polling, a national firm.

The
opinion poll focused on states holding primaries next week, and found
Clinton ahead in 10 out of 12 states, including Oklahoma.

Silas
Allen, a reporter for the Oklahoman, summarized
other findings in the survey from mid-February:

“A
majority of Oklahoma Democrats told pollsters they thought Clinton
was better prepared than Sanders to be commander in chief and deal
with foreign policy issues. Clinton also polled well on issues like
immigration, race relations and women’s issues: 61 percent said they
trusted Clinton more to handle women’s issues, 39 percent said they
trusted her most on immigration and 44 percent said they thought she
was best equipped to improve race relations.

“But
Sanders fared better in income-inequality issues, which have been the
cornerstone of his campaign: 46 percent of Oklahoma voters surveyed
told pollsters they trusted Sanders most to crack down on Wall
Street, to Clinton’s 33 percent. Another 45 percent said they trusted
Sanders more to pursue policies that raise the incomes of average
Americans, with Clinton polling at 38 percent in the same category.”

Last
fall, Tulsa Today, an online news source, reported the 2016 Clinton campaign had former an influential group of Oklahoma
Democratic party leaders supporting the former first Lady, including
state Senate Minority Leader John Sparks of Norman, Sen. Kay Floyd of
Oklahoma City and Reps. Jason Dunnington and George Young of Oklahoma
City, and Reps. Emily Virgin of Norman, James Lockhart of Heavener,
and Jeannie McDaniel of Tulsa.

Former
state Rep. Laura Boyd of Norman is also a Clinton booster.

Former
Gov. David Walters and his wife, Rhonda, are Clinton supporters, as
are former Gov. Brad Henry and his wife, Dr. Jan Henry, and former
Gov. George Nigh and his wife, Donna, and former Corporation
Commissioner Jim Roth.

Other
former elected state officers backing Clinton former Attorney
Generals Mike Turpen, Robert Henry and Drew Edmondson. Other
prominent supporters include former U.S. Attorney Dan Webber, as well
as Lisa Pryor, Susan Savage and Kathy Taylor. The latter three have
each held statewide appointed positions in the past. Savage and
Taylor are both former mayors of Tulsa, the state’s second largest
city.

Democratic
activists on the Clinton campaign bandwagon include Joe Hartman,
Evelyn Adams, Aaron Wilder, Shirley Neal, Jo Glenn, Amanda Snipes,
Troy Stevenson, Dana Orwig, Bob Burke, Nina Ritchie, Henry A. “Hank”
Meyer, Cassi Peters, Stuart Price, Susan Turpen, Kalyn Free, Hank
Bennet, Debbie Hough-Downey, and Linda Edmondson.

At
Tulsa fundraising event attended by former Secretary of State Clinton
last year, she raised several hundred thousand dollars with the help
of her Oklahoma Leadership Council.

In
2008, Hillary Clinton won the state Democratic primary with 228,480
votes, or 54.76 percent, to 130,130 votes, or 31.19 percent, for
then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.

In
the November general election, Republican John McCain easily won the
state, with 65.65 percent of the vote.

Although
he never carried Oklahoma in his presidential campaigns, Bill Clinton
has often visited the state, including for events remembering those
who died in the 1995 bombing of the A.P. Murrah Federal Building.

Clinton
and former Gov. Walters are long-time allies in regional and national
politics.