Hillary Clinton often notes that she has been in politics for nearly 25 years, but many party activists have been around just as long, or longer. Here are two prominent Democratic National Committeewomen who have witnessed the evolution of Clinton’s career and the ways the party has changed along the way.
Carolyn Warner — Arizona
Arizona DNC superdelegate Carolyn Warner first came to know the Clintons in 1978 when she was on the education speaking circuit and attending an event in Arkansas. This year marks her sixth Democratic National Convention, and fourth time supporting a Clinton.
In the time since she first met the Clintons, Warner has stayed in close touch with the two prominent Democrats, especially with regard to education policy.
“Back then, I was Arizona superintendent for education, so that was my primary concern. And Hillary and Bill Clinton were so committed to education for everyone, I was really struck by it,” Warner told the Washington Examiner. “I held them in high esteem, so I followed their every move over the years. I expected them to do great things. And they did.”
Warner said that whenever she and Hillary Clinton were at the same event over the years, Clinton would pull her aside to talk education policy. The former superintendent remarked that Clinton had a strong “focus on details and statistics.”
“[Clinton] was always concerned about young people who dropped out of high school. Back then, high school was almost the equivalent of college today,” Warner explained. “She would always focus on education even though her husband had a broader focus.”
During Warner’s time working in education, Bill Clinton appointed her to the National Skills Standards Board and the Elementary Secondary Education Advisory Committee, among others. To this day, at age 79, she is still the chair of the Arizona Quality Skills Commission and still meets up with Hillary Clinton whenever she comes through Arizona.
“Seeing Hillary Clinton nominated is one of the high points of my life,” Warner said. “She is the most qualified candidate we’ve ever had in the history of this country. Not just because she’s a woman, but because she is incredibly capable, knowledgeable and experienced.”
Aleita Huguenin — California
Aleita Huguenin began her career as a DNC delegate under Jimmy Carter and now, over 40 years later, serves as the chair of the Western States Caucus. In the decades she’s been in Democratic politics, she’s watched the party open its doors to more people and watched Clinton crack “the glass ceiling.”
“I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t a delegate,” Huguenin told the Washington Examiner.
After her three decades of service to the Democratic Party, former DNC Chair Howard Dean asked Huguenin to lead the Western State Caucus. Although she’s based in California, Huguenin now spends much of her time traveling throughout the West to connect, inform and organize Democrats.
She says her favorite work is in the “flyover states” where voters may have troubles connecting to the party, but want to be more politically involved. Although she hopes the Democratic Party would send her on more trips to Hawaii, that doesn’t happen often.
“You realize how independent these Western voters are,” Huguenin said of her trips to rural areas to visit Democrats. “But when you get these Democrats in a group, they have a lot of commonalities and they really want to get together.”
During her involvement in the Democratic Party, Huguenin watched Clinton grow accustomed to the limelight. When the former first lady first stepped into the political scene, Huguenin recalls that she was very policy-oriented and shy, while “Bill was more a schmoozer; I don’t mean that in a pejorative way. She was just more intense, always thinking.”
But, as Hillary Clinton’s political career advanced, Huguenin watched her become more comfortable in large groups. The DNC delegate explained, “You’d be watching her talk, then all of a sudden she’d be holding someone’s baby!”
After watching the long, hard-fought primary, Huguenin is hoping Clinton can unify the party under her historical candidacy at the convention in Philadelphia.
“I think she’s ready, I think America’s ready,” she said. “Clinton broke that glass ceiling a long time ago, but now that the ceiling’s open, it’s time to let people in.”
