Clinton Fights Pressure to Withdraw,
Tees Up for Fight With Party Elders
Hillary Clinton, under mounting pressure to bow out of the presidential race and avoid a floor fight at the Democratic National Convention in August, is standing firm in her determination to fight Barack Obama to the finish.
Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, a former candidate himself, said Clinton has virtually no chance of winning, and Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont said Friday the New York senator should just end her campaign.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants the party’s uncommitted superdelegates to support the candidate who has the most votes, which to this point is Obama. And Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean on Friday urged all those superdelegates to announce whom they will support by July 1.
Former Vice President Al Gore said Thursday that he expects the Democratic nomination fight will work itself out before the party’s convention.
“What have we got, five months left?” he told The Associated Press in a brief interview after a speech at Middle Tennessee State University.
“I think it’s going to resolve itself. But we’ll see.”
