Hillary Clinton campaign seeks endorsement from Jacksonville mayor

Ready for Hillary? The Clinton campaign thought that the Jacksonville mayor was, Florida Politics has learned.

A staff member from the Hillary Clinton campaign reached out to the Mayor’s Office to try to secure a key endorsement as part of a larger bundle of endorsements the campaign is readying for Monday.

Time was when an endorsement from the Jacksonville mayor might have been a slam dunk for the Clinton campaign, which is doing everything it can to stave off the Bernie Sanders challenge.

Of course, that time ended on June 30 when Clinton alumnus and loyalist Alvin Brown left office.

The Clinton apparatchik was, we hear, surprised by the change of guard.

Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry, who has some history with the Republican Party, is (prediction!) likely not going to endorse the Clinton campaign.

Naturally, the Clinton campaign was embarrassed by not knowing the identity of Jacksonville’s mayor.

Yet this points to larger issues with the operation, which has descended the past few months from expecting a coronation of the presumptive nominee to having to fight for every vote, and endorsement, with a septuagenarian socialist senator nipping at her heels.

Clearly, Hillary is “feeling the Bern.”

No word yet whether she has reached out to former Democratic mayors Jake Godbold or Tommy Hazouri for their endorsements.

Of course, those with long memories will recall the lack of engagement from the Clintons for the Brown re-election campaign. Bill Clinton came to town and addressed a closed-to-media gathering of party activists months before the election. And Hillary Clinton didn’t even do that.