Polls currently show Hillary Clinton with a commanding lead in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary, but Mitt Romney’s top political strategist says don’t discount the possibility of an upset.
“Absolutely she is beatable,” Stuart Stevens, the senior political strategist to Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, said of Clinton Friday to this writer, who was guest hosting Hugh Hewitt’s radio show. “No question about it”
“Is this person, who voted for the war in Iraq, is this person going to represent the energy of the Democratic Party as it is today?” Stevens said, after listing a host of positions which showed that Clinton was at least until very recently out of step with the zeitgeist of the Democratic Party’s base. “I just find that hard to believe. “
Stevens suggested that independent socialist Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who recently entered the Democratic presidential field, could cause Clinton problems.
“So even if no one else runs but Bernie, I think that when you look at New Hampshire and New Hampshire’s history, that he is going to give her a heck of a fight,” he said.
Stevens went on to say that while he doesn’t think Sanders is likely to win the Democratic nomination, he believes he could win New Hampshire, setting up a scenario where another Democratic contender steps up and overtakes Clinton.
“I don’t think he is likely to win the nomination, no,” Stevens said, speaking of Sanders. “But I think that whenever you look at politics and you say something is a likelihood to happen that has never happened before, you have to sort of pause and say, wait a second, no Democratic frontrunner in her position has ever had an easy time. Could she be the first? She could. Is it likely? It’s never happened before for a reason. “
“And I could foresee a scenario where she loses New Hampshire or a McCarthy-like, I guess, Johnson scenario where [Sanders] so wounds her that he draws other people into the race,” he continued. “I think that is entirely possible. “
Asked who could ultimately steal the nomination from Clinton, Stevens said, “It could be anybody.”
“You could have a situation where – I don’t know what Martin O’Malley’s going to do, but he could come in third and he could then get in the race,” Stevens explained. “I mean, Bobby Kennedy didn’t get into the race until after McCarthy. You know, it could be anybody out there.”
Stevens then raised the specter of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren entering the race, even though she has repeatedly said she has no intention of running for president in 2016.
“It still could be Elizabeth Warren,” Stevens said. “I mean, that’s another situation where if you look at history, which I think does matter here, those that polls show who could do well in a presidential race, who can raise the money, that don’t run, is not a particularly long list.”