Harkin: Clinton should start 2016 campaign in small-town Iowa

JOHNSTON - Whether she asks for it or not, Sen. Tom Harkin has some advice for Hillary Clinton if she decides to run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016.

First off, Clinton, who finished third in Iowa's first-in-the-nation precinct caucuses in 2008, has to understand that she is going to have to work for Iowans' support.

'She needs to understand that she can't take it for granted,” Harkin said Friday during taping of Iowa Public Television's Iowa Press, which airs tonight at 7:30.

The Iowa Democrat, who is retiring after 40 years in Congress, said he believes it's a 50-50 proposition whether the former first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state will seek the nomination. He said that if Clinton runs she won't have the field to herself.

Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb is forming an exploratory committee and Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders will be back in Iowa later this month giving him four visits to the state. Four visits is the same as outgoing Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, another rumored potential candidate, who spoke at the Iowa Hall of Fame Dinner honoring Harkin.

Harkin didn't endorse Clinton, who he hosted at his annual steak fry in September, or any of the other potential candidates, but spoke highly of O'Malley.

'I like him a lot. I admire him greatly,” Harkin said.

If she runs, Harkin said, Clinton should take her campaign to small-town Iowa rather than concentrate on larger media markets.

'Don't just go to Des Moines or Waterloo or Cedar Rapids or Dubuque,” he said. 'Go to the rural areas. Start out in smaller communities in Iowa. Let them know you care about rural America and small towns and communities.

'You can get the cities later on, but plant your flag in rural Iowa,” he said.

Harkin also said he will remain active in the Iowa Democratic Party, but not in a leadership role.

'I am a Democrat and I love my party and I want my party to be good and I want them to have good policies and good candidates,” he said. 'But I don't intend to be any kind of godfather or something like that. I just want to be supportive and helping in whatever way I can.”

He was reluctant to armchair quarterback the unsuccessful Senate campaign by Bruce Braley.

'He's been a great congressman, he has contributed a lot, and I thought he ran a good campaign,” Harkin said.

The Braley campaign made a couple of mistakes - 'We all know about that,” he said, and Republican state Sen. Joni Ernst ran a 'great campaign.” In the end, however, he said he thought the four-term 1st District representative was the victim of a wave election.

'I've seen waves,” Harkin said. 'I came in on a wave in 1974, the Watergate wave. And so I've seen these waves move back and forth. And this was just one of those years.”

Asked whether Braley should run again, Harkin said that will be a personal decision for the Waterloo attorney to make.

'I think he is a good public servant. He was a very, very good congressman. He worked very hard,” Harkin said. 'If he wants to run again, I would think there would be a lot of support for him.”

Iowa Press can be seen at 7:30 p.m. and noon Sunday on IPTV, at 8:30 a.m. Saturday on IPTV World and is available beginning tonight at www.IPTV.org.