ALEXANDRIA, Va.— HIllary Clinton took a campaign victory lap the day after her testimony before the Benghazi Select Committee. “A lot of things have been said about me, but quitter is not one of them,” she said.
Clinton was introduced by Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a longtime friend and ally of the Clinton family. The Virginia politician also praised Clinton’s handling of the Benghazi committee.
“The next president of the United States is so important to Virginia and our country,” McAuliffe said. “Folks, we know that Hillary Clinton is a fighter, she’s been a fighter her whole life.
“I don’t know any of you,” he added, “you want to talk about a fight, how about those 11 hours of testimony yesterday? Thats what I’m talking about! Are you kidding me?”
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As the crowd cheered, McAuliffe continued, “I almost want to thank her because you saw those 11 hours of testimony, thats why she needs to be our commander in chief.”
Clinton returned the favor by praising McAuliffe’s leadership in the state of Virginia, and called on voters to help her win the primary and the general election. She also announced that as of today, her campaign has received donations from 500,000 individuals, a new record for the campaign.
“In terms of her appearances the past week at the hearing and at the debate last week, what we’ve learned from that is come what may in terms of headwinds in the course of of the campaign, when she has an opportunity to appear on a national campaign and speak in an unfiltered way to the voters, we see them respond to that in a positive way,” Hillary for America press secretary Brian Fallon told the Washington Examiner. “I think you’ve seen some of the shift in numbers since the debate, and I think yesterday too she was appearing extremely presidential.”
Fallon told reporters that the 9 p.m. hour after the Benghazi testimony was Clinton’s “highest performing hour since April” when she launched her campaign, although they do not know the exact numbers.
Following her rally in Virginia, Clinton will fly to Iowa for the Jefferson-Jackson dinner along with the other Democratic candidates, Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley. With her numbers back up in the early caucus state, she may enjoy the Katy Perry concert at her campaign rally before the dinner.
