Will Hillary move to the left?

Hillary Clinton must decide whether to move to the left as she begins a run for the presidency that will test her ability to unite the Democratic Party.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and liberal groups are pressing Clinton to align with the party’s progressive wing, arguing a populist approach will energize the grass roots and ultimately win the White House.  

{mosads}But with no strong challengers for the Democratic nomination, Clinton might opt to keep to the political center ahead of next fall’s general election battle against the Republican nominee.

“It’s not going to be easy for her and her team,” said Democratic strategist Jim Manley. “The left is going to press her for allegedly being to close to Wall Street, while the right of course is going to continue to bang away at the idea that she is a corporate insider — but I am sure she can thread the needle.”

Liberals have tried to force Clinton into a primary battle by drafting Warren into the race, but the senator has repeatedly and emphatically said she will not be a candidate.

That leaves former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chaffee, former Sen. Jim Webb (Va.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as Clinton’s only rivals for the nomination.

All of them will be prohibitive underdogs against Clinton, but could still make noise in a primary process where liberals groups are spoiling for a fight about the direction of the party.

Anna Galland, executive director of MoveOn.org Civic Action, said her group will “encourage [Clinton] to lay out an agenda that shows she’ll stand up to Wall Street banks and wealthy interests who’ve rigged the game in Washington.”

MoveOn.org and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee have called on Clinton to take a more liberal stance on issues ranging from Wall Street reform to trade.

Jim Kessler, senior vice president for policy at the centrist Democratic think tank Third Way, said Clinton’s challenge will not be winning the nomination, but persuading moderate swing-voters that “she knows how to grow the economy.”

He noted that Democrats hold the fewest number of elected seats since 1928, “so running on the exact same narrative that has brought us to this nine decade nadir is probably not wise.”

Clinton’s challenge will not be winning the nomination, but persuading moderate swing-voters that “she knows how to grow the economy,” Kessler said

“Some of those ideas will come from the liberal wing of the party, but many will come from the centrist wing,” Kessler said. 

Clues about Clinton’s policy platform are likely to emerge soon, with the former secretary of State expected to launch her White House bid on Sunday and then hit the campaign trail in Iowa.

While her position on any number of subjects — including the Iran talks, the Keystone XL pipeline and ObamaCare — will be closely followed, it’s her position on economic issues that Democrats are most anxious to hear.

Robert Shapiro, a former economic adviser to President Bill Clinton, said she should seek to avoid being pigeonholed ideologically.

“The best course is not to go left or moderate, but to move beyond the conventional alternatives to more innovative, post-partisan and pragmatic approaches.

Shapiro sad Clinton should follow the same path put forth by her husband, who pitched himself as a “new Democrat” when he ran for president in the 1990s.

Warren’s recent public remarks indicate that while she won’t be running for president, she is looking to play an outside role in helping shape the party’s message in the 2016 cycle.

Neil Sroka, spokesman for spokesman for the progressive Democracy For America (DFA), said that liberals have been “exceedingly clear” in opposing President Obama’s trade policy, as well as pushing bank against Wall Street banks “that wrecked our economy in 2008 and are now whining about being held accountable.”

It’s that type of rhetoric that has some Democrats uneasy. One aide to a House Democrat was skeptical that Clinton would adopt Warren’s rhetoric or policy positions. 

“If she’s looking for a win, Secretary Clinton and her campaign will need to take a departure from the expected,” the aide said.

The aide said a successful campaign will “require her to shy away from the polarizing rhetoric of Senator Warren’s camp to appeal to those in the middle of the political spectrum.”

Another senior aide to a moderate Democratic House member called progressives’ calls “a false choice.”

The aide said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s reelection “proves that you can have an essentially progressive record — and while a handful of less-than-strategic groups will pillory you for it, real everyday progressives will respect you.”