Melissa Ross
As top Republicans bemoan the prospect that divisions within their party could lead to a Hillary Clinton presidency, her campaign is rolling out the support of top military brass with a series of veterans and military families town halls across Florida in the run up to the March 15 primary.
Brig. Gen. John Douglass, Rear Adm. Michael Smith, Maj. Gen. Rick Olson, Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy, and U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown will host the town halls, highlighting “Clinton’s commitment to fighting for veterans and military families from her time as First Lady to what she’ll do as president,” a campaign spokesman wrote in an email.
Supporters will discuss Clinton’s record on national security, her tenure on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and her accomplishments as Secretary of State, the campaign says. (Unsurprisingly, there’s no mention of Benghazi or the candidate’s email controversy in the missive).
The panels will be moderated by Jon Murray, national director of Veterans and Military Families Outreach at Hillary for America.
The military campaign commences Friday night with a “Tampa Veterans and Military Families for Hillary Town Hall” event in Tampa.
Monday will see a similar Jacksonville event, and Pensacola will be the site of a March 12 town hall.
On the Republican side, Florida’s primary is winner-take-all, and is seen as a vital “win” for the remaining Republican candidates, (and could be the final nail in Marco Rubio‘s coffin). However, for the Democrats, delegates will be awarded proportionally, and some pundits see Florida as simply the period on the end of the sentence on Clinton’s march to her party’s nomination.
