During a breakfast this morning with reporters, top Hillary Clinton campaign aides argued that having Clinton at the top of the ticket would pay major dividends in down-ticket races, and that Barack Obama would not.
The aides put together a power point presentation (that you can download here) arguing Clinton runs stronger than Obama in swing congressional districts. The presentation points out that of the 31 House seats Democrats gained in 2006, 20 voted for President Bush in 2004. Of those 20, Clinton has won 16.
A group of House Democrats from competitive districts backed up Clinton’s claim with a letter to fellow Democrats.
“As Democrats who have run and won in competitive Congressional districts and battleground states, we believe that Hillary is best positioned to successfully lead the Democratic ticket in districts and states like ours,” the letter reads.
The Clinton campaign also claims that in electoral math, the former first lady leads John McCain by 42 electoral college votes. Obama, they claim, trails McCain by eight.
After attending the breakfast The Hill’s Sam Youngman notes in his story:
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton