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Hillary Clinton weighs in on 2020 primaries: 'Vote for the person you think is most likely to win'

'This is an election that will have such a profound impact, so take your vote seriously,' former nominee warns

Chris Riotta
New York
Friday 17 January 2020 18:02 EST
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Hillary Clinton said the next election will have a 'profound' impact on the country while urging Americans to vote for whoever they believe is 'most likely to win'.
Hillary Clinton said the next election will have a 'profound' impact on the country while urging Americans to vote for whoever they believe is 'most likely to win'. (Getty Images)

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Hillary Clinton has some advice for voters planning to participate in the Democratic primaries when voting begins in a few short weeks: "Try to vote for the person you think is most likely to win."

The former secretary of state and 2016 Democratic nominee spoke at the Television Critics Association press tour on Friday while promoting Hulu’s new four-part documentary series based on her life, titled Hillary.

“This is an election that will have such a profound impact, so take your vote seriously,” Ms Clinton said. “And for Democratic voters, try to vote for the person you think is most likely to win. Because at the end of the day, that is what will matter — and not just in the popular vote, but the electoral college.”

Despite winning the popular vote by nearly three million ballots, Ms Clinton lost to Donald Trump in a shocking upset during the 2016 presidential election.

She said Mr Trump’s administration has since implemented a “form of politics that is incredibly negative, exclusive and mean-spirited”.

“It’s going to be up to every voter to recognise this is no ordinary time,” she added. “This is an election that will have such a profound impact.”

Ms Clinton declined to reveal who she may be supporting in the 2020 Democratic primaries, and has not endorsed any candidates for the White House. The former nominee has previously indicated she met with and gave advice to several of the contenders currently running for the Democratic ticket.

There has been a contentious debate in recent months about “electability” and long-espoused sentiments expressed along the campaign trail that a centrist pick like Joe Biden was a safer choice than some of the more progressive candidates like Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren.

The former vice president endorsed Ms Clinton’s candidacy in 2016. It was not clear whether Ms Clinton was encouraging voters to support Mr Biden in the Democratic primaries, however.

“Lord knows what will happen if we don’t retire the current incumbent and his henchmen, as Nancy Pelosi so well described them,” Ms Clinton said.

The new documentary series focusing on Ms Clinton follows her on the campaign trail and delves into personal areas of her life, including her marriage to former President Bill Clinton, as well as his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

In watching the documentary series, Ms Clinton said she felt “humbled” by several moments and experienced a “recognition that I have been often, in my view, mischaracterised or misperceived”, adding: “I have to bear a lot of the responsibility for that.”

She added: “Whatever the combination of reasons might be, I certainly didn’t do a good enough job to break through the perceptions that were out there.”

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