Is LA All-In For Hillary Clinton? Hollywood Stars, Pundits Weigh In
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — She leads the Democratic pack of hopefuls.
For many, Hillary Clinton is the entire pack. She declared Sunday she's all in. The former First Lady, Senator from New York and Secretary of State under President Barack Obama, promised to be a champion for every day Americans.
She released a video on social media that mostly featured voters talking about their lives.
When she appeared at the end of the video, Clinton said she wanted to help these people do more than just "get by."
Clinton is headed to Iowa where early political caucuses and first voters often set the agenda for the nation.
That said, Clinton will also no doubt be making several fund-raising trips to the Southland.
CBS2's Laurie Perez reports there are many reasons why -- for one thing, California voters haven't backed a Republican candidate for president since 1988 and experts say there is no reason to believe electorate vote-rich California will be anything but blue come 2016.
Experts said Clinton won't just be coming here for votes but will be here looking for dollars.
On Twitter, some celebrities declared their support.
Carole King wrote "I'm in." Ariana Grande wrote *Yaaas."
Lakers great and Dodgers owner Magic Johnson tweeted, "I feel Hillary Clinton will be a great president for the American people..."
She will be counting on celebrities to put their money where their mouths are.
Estimates say her campaign might spent up to $2.5 billion to get her -- and Bill -- back to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Perez spoke to Dan Schnur, director of USC's Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics.
"The entertainment industry and Silicon Valley really do tend to be financial pillars for successful Democratic candidates and the level of enthusiasm that existed in Hollywood for Barack Obama in 2008 has now shifted completely to Hillary Clinton," Schnur said.
Top celebrity contributors can be very enthusiastic, among them Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, Steven Spielberg -- all have given hundreds of thousands of dollars to candidates and causes.
Schnur does not believe the Hollywood elite or A-Listers will help Clinton with her biggest hurdle.
"The challenge that she was never able to overcome in 2008 and her biggest challenge this year is showing the average American that she understands the challenges they face on an everyday basis," he said.
