Indeed, none of these candidates will have the benefit of anything approaching the widespread Clinton network, which was largely represented by the independent political action committee Ready For Hillary that signed up nearly 4 million voters over the last two-plus years.
In the face of such organizing, the non-Clinton candidates seemed so daunted that none of them seized the moment in March when Clinton was revealed to have used a private email system as secretary of state.
Former candidates and advisers say the best approach would be to chip away at Clinton on a few policies — like Wall Street regulation — as a way to start to gain traction.
“If the policies [Clinton] comes out with are all-inclusive, then a primary is not necessary,” said Reverend Al Sharpton, who ran in 2004. But “if they’re just running and there’s no policy debate, it’s just a vanity exercise.”
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