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McCaskill is a 'Ready for Hillary' backer

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, June 18, 2013 - WASHINGTON – Hillary Clinton has not yet announced whether she will run for the Democratic nomination for president in 2016, but U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill on Tuesday endorsed a “Ready for Hillary” super PAC that wants Clinton to run.

“It’s important that we start early, building a grassroots army from the ground up and effectively using the tools of the internet – all things that President Obama did so successfully – so that if Hillary does decide to run, we’ll be ready to help her win,” McCaskill said in a statement early Tuesday.

In a news release picked up by some national media outlets, “Ready for Hillary” touted McCaskill as “the first sitting member of Congress to endorse the effort.”

In reality, McCaskill has made it clear for months that she wants Clinton to run, and the Missouri senator appears to be positioning herself as a political player if the former U.S. senator and secretary of State decides to do so.

In early February, the Beacon reported, McCaskill – who at one time had a rocky political relationship with Bill and Hillary Clinton, and who was an early backer of Obama's candidacy – heaped praise on the former First Lady. McCaskill said she would work hard for the campaign if Hillary opted to run.

“I know that Hillary will succeed in whatever comes next for her – and if her future plans include seeking the presidency, which I hope they do, then I look forward to being on her team and working my heart out to see her elected,” McCaskill said in the statement, issued on Clinton’s final day as secretary of state.

So far, McCaskill and Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, are the only major political figures in Missouri who have endorsed a potential Clinton candidacy. At recent Democratic events, McCaskill – who won reelection by a large margin in November over former U.S. Rep. Todd Akin – has indicated that she wants to take on a larger political role in Missouri and nationally.

McCaskill and state Attorney General Chris Koster, who is running for governor in 2016, also have said they want to reinvigorate the state’s Democratic party.

In her statement Tuesday, McCaskill said “Ready for Hillary” was reaching out to former backers of President Barack Obama – who defeated Clinton for the 2008 nomination – “to show that regardless of who you supported for president back then, we can all agree today that there is nobody better equipped to be our next president than Hillary Clinton.”

In a separate message sent Tuesday to her backers, McCaskill wrote that “we need to show Hillary that she has an army of supporters who, like me, are ready to get to work to see her elected as our next president. And I'm counting on your help to send that message."

McCaskill urged her political followers to help "Ready for Hillary" reach "5,000 grassroots donors before the FEC filing deadline on June 30."