SEATTLE — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., excited a crowd of 5,000 people Thursday night in Seattle, just two days before she and other presidential candidates hope to win the support of Washington caucusgoers.
Clinton stepped onto the stage at Pier 30 on Seattle’s waterfront about 9:30 p.m. to the chants of “Hillary, Hillary, Hillary.”
“I am asking you to join with me to transform America and the world,” Clinton said.
The New York senator who aims to become the nation’s first female president plans to attend campaign events in the state today. Her rival, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., is scheduled to make a campaign stop at KeyArena in Seattle today.
Before she arrived, David Whittemore 18, of Everett, a senior at Cascade High School, said he had already decided to support Clinton.
“I like her universal health care plan more than his,” he said in comparing Clinton and Obama. “I think she has more experience than Obama. Her leadership skills and electability are way over Obama’s.”
He’s been following the news closely about the election, he said.
“This is the first election I’m going to vote in, and it’s one of the biggest ones.”
Hilary Scheibert, 18, of Edmonds arrived at 5:30 p.m. with her mother, Jacqueline, for the Clinton appearance. Hilary Scheibert’s voting for the first time this year and is trying to decide who to support.
“I really don’t know yet,” she said. “I’m going to check it out tonight. I’m going to Barack Obama’s rally tomorrow.”
Scheibert, a senior at Edmonds-Woodway High School, said she’s very interested in social issues, especially environmental issues and women’s rights. She said it makes no difference to her that Clinton is a woman, except that “women tend to be very supportive of women’s rights.”
“I feel lucky I’ll be able to get involved in something that is so important to my life,” she said.
As candidates continue to vie for their party’s nomination, Washington state, which had been the footnote to presidential races for decades, is attracting national attention this year. The state’s Democratic and Republican parties are holding caucuses on Saturday.
Republican presidential front-runner Sen. John McCain is scheduled to talk to a crowd in Seattle this evening. Janet Huckabee plans to stop in Kirkland today to drum up support for her husband, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is trailing McCain for the Republican nomination. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney announced Thursday that he had ended his campaign, following his disappointing results on Tuesday.
Clinton and Obama split victories in primaries and caucuses in almost half the nation on Tuesday. With their race unsettled, the two candidates are fighting for Washington state’s 97 delegates, many of which will be allocated from Saturday’s caucuses.
The state Republican party is set to select about half of its 40 delegates from Saturday’s caucuses. The rest will be allocated in the state’s Feb. 19 presidential primary.
At the rally on Thursday night, former Gov. Gary Locke and Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon waited for Clinton to arrive at the appearance.
Shirley McGinnis, 63 and Sandra Lewis, 62, both of Lynnwood, attended the Clinton event together.
“She is the best candidate for the job right now,” McGinnis said of Clinton. “She will fight back (against the Republicans). That’s what I want.”
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
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