Clinton, Bayh move toward ‘08 bid

NEW YORK – Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton met on Sunday with New York’s Democratic governor-elect to solicit his support for her likely White House bid, the latest indication she is stepping up plans to join a growing field of potential contenders for 2008.

One rival, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, said Sunday he was establishing an exploratory committee to raise money for a possible presidential run. He expects to decide over the holidays whether to seek his party’s nomination.

A top aide to Clinton said he did not know when the former first lady would decide about pursuing the presidency or set up an exploratory committee. Clinton aides, however, have begun interviewing possible campaign staffers in recent weeks, Howard Wolfson said.

Clinton, who long has topped national polls of Democratic hopefuls, spent two hours with Gov.-elect Eliot Spitzer at his Manhattan home.

“We just had a great, wide-ranging meeting on so many issues that affect the city, the state and the country,” Clinton said.

Last week she contacted leading state lawmakers, including Democratic Reps. Charles Rangel and Nita Lowey, and the state party chairman, Denny Farrell, to assess her prospects and seek their support.

Clinton easily won re-election last month to a second term in the Senate. Wolfson noted that Clinton long has said she would begin actively considering a presidential bid after that election. “That process has begun,” Wolfson said.

Bayh, appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” acknowledged he was not well-known outside Washington and Indiana, but said he had the credentials necessary to be an effective president.

“As the people get to know me, I think we’ll do very well. I’ve been a successful two-term governor with a record of delivering results. I now have national security experience from my presence in the Senate,” he said.

Bayh, 50, has charted a relatively centrist course in the Senate. He has appearances scheduled this week in Iowa and New Hampshire, two states with early contests on the presidential campaign calendar. As of Sept. 30, he had about $10.5 million in his Senate campaign account, all of which can be transferred to a presidential committee.

Clinton has as much as $13 million left from her Senate race, plus a vast network of donors and advisers led by her husband, former President Clinton.