DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Hillary Rodham Clinton left Iowa on an “excruciating” night in 2008, the beginning of the end of her White House campaign. She returns for the first time this weekend, not quite yet running for president but sure to hear cheers from a crowd of Democrats hoping she will.
Trailed by White House speculation, and joined by her husband, former President Bill Clinton, the former secretary of state is trekking to rural Indianola to pay tribute to the retiring Sen. Tom Harkin at his final Steak Fry – a fundraiser and fixture of the state’s political calendar.
There will be plenty of talk about the upcoming midterm elections, especially the Senate race to pick Harkin’s replacement. But all eyes will be on Clinton, and whether she will come back soon – and often – to court voters once again in the first state to vote in the presidential campaign.
“She is going to rev up the crowd,” said Democratic state Sen. Liz Mathis. “Certainly this is a great litmus test for her to see how many people not only are supercharged to wish Sen. Harkin well, but that they’re also glad to see her as well.”
More than 5,000 people are expected at this year’s Harkin Steak Fry – the steaks are grilled, not deep-fried – making it the largest since Hillary Clinton’s last appearance in 2007, when she was joined by Barack Obama, Joe Biden and other Democrats running for president.