MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Will Hillary Clinton get a warm welcome in Seattle?

Oct 12, 2016, 7:58 AM

Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton will swing by Seattle for a fundraiser on Friday. It’s a stop in a city where many Bernie Sanders Democrats have been hesitant to donate to Clinton’s campaign.

There is no rally planned, according to the Washington State Democratic Party. Susan Hutchison, chairman of the Washington State Republican Party, says that is typical of the presidential hopeful.

“Typical of Hillary Clinton all along,” Hutchison said. “She’s sequestered much of a week, except when she shows up for fundraisers.”

Related: Washington voter registration ‘breaking records every day’

Hutchison, who recently came under fire for her continued support of Donald Trump even after the leaked footage was released, says plenty of people willing to give to Clinton’s campaign will show up to the The Paramount Theatre this Friday. For Democratic candidates, Seattle is an ATM machine, she says.

“The folks who will show up to this fundraiser are your typical funders,” Hutchison said. However, “she doesn’t want to be available to the press and she doesn’t want to be available to the public.”

Clinton will be somewhat available. That is, if you consider $250 and up affordable. The most expensive seating comes with a $25,000 price tag.

Not everyone in the city was such a Sanders fanatic. However, of the 24,700 residents who gave $200 or more, only 231 — as of last week — had given to Clinton.

Hutchison says that data proves something.

“The high population of Seattle which is so pro-Bernie is looking for a place to land,” she said. “And, clearly, they haven’t landed on Hillary Clinton.”

But enough have landed on Clinton, according to some of the latest polls. The Seattle PI reports that one survey put the Democratic nominee 16 points over her renegade opponent. Though Clinton has a 48-percent unfavorable rating by the people surveyed, Trump’s unfavorable rating is at 63 percent.

Trump vs. Clinton Washington visits

That’s quite the contradiction to what Trump said while he was campaigning in Washington.

“You know a Republican would never come to the state of Washington,” he told a crowd in a packed Everett’s Xfinity Arena in August. “We’re gonna win it, that’s why I’m here.”

And the Washington DNC party is thrilled for Clinton’s visit.

“Washington State Democrats are thrilled to have our nominee returning to the state,” the DNC said in a statement to MyNorthwest. “Her visit will inspire more Washingtonians to get involved. We hope anyone who wants to volunteer will sign up through www.democrats.org/volunteer.

“The recent debates have shown the choice we face. Will we let an unhinged, unready Donald Trump divide us or will we stand Stronger Together? It’s stunning, disturbing, and telling that Washington State Republican Party Chairman Susan Hutchison and the Washington State Party are still boasting about their support for Donald Trump. We know that Donald Trump is wrong for Washington and it’s clear that the Republican Party is as well.”

Hutchison argues that Clinton’s visit is a stark contrast to Trump’s. While Trump rallied in Spokane, Lynden, and Everett, Clinton hasn’t. Trump, she says, attended rallies in front of tens of thousands and interacted with the “real, working people.”

Of course, something could be said about the Clinton campaign’s willingness to come to Seattle. Remember when Trump was expected in the city but ended up diverting way north? The exact reason was never known, but one source told KIRO Radio that the campaign opted out of a visit at Boeing Field, after hearing about all the formalities.

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