Tom Miller, Michael Fitzgerald endorse Clinton
Two of Iowa’s top elected Democrats are endorsing Hillary Clinton for president.
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller and State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald have both decided to back the front-runner over her challengers.
Both men supported then-Sen. Barack Obama over Clinton early in the Iowa campaign in 2007. Their endorsements in February of that year helped Obama gain a foothold among Iowa Democrats and upset Clinton in the 2008 caucuses.
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Miller said in an interview Thursday that he always admired Clinton. “Barack was just an exceptional candidate. … Had he not been in the race, I would have been for Hillary all the way.”
He said Clinton has continued to grow in the past eight years, including during her service as Obama’s secretary of state. He said she has the intelligence, experience and judgment to be a good president. He also is impressed with the formidable organization her campaign has already built in the state.
Miller said he likes Clinton’s Democratic rivals, including the surging populist Bernie Sanders, “but I think she’s the strongest candidate in the field.”
Fitzgerald echoed Miller’s thoughts in a prepared statement Thursday.
“Hillary Clinton is the candidate that is boldly speaking out on the fundamental issues facing our country, and her progressive vision for our country is exactly what we need to keep our country moving forward,” Fitzgerald wrote. “Hillary Clinton’s commitment to growing our economy so that everyday Iowans can get ahead and stay ahead is what Iowa Democrats believe to our core.”