Richardson endorses Clinton

Bill Richardson, just days after saying again that he was not making an endorsement, made an endorsement in the 2016 presidential primary on Sunday. The former two-term governor of New Mexico endorsed Hillary Clinton. Richardson provided a statement to ABC News that said he patched up all his differences with Hillary and Bill Clinton. “I have […]

Richardson endorses Clinton

Bill Richardson, just days after saying again that he was not making an endorsement, made an endorsement in the 2016 presidential primary on Sunday.

Bill Richardson at Las Vegas Presidential Forum in 2007. Photo Credit: Center for American Progress Action Fund cc
Bill Richardson at Las Vegas Presidential Forum in 2007. Photo Credit: Center for American Progress Action Fund cc

The former two-term governor of New Mexico endorsed Hillary Clinton.

Richardson provided a statement to ABC News that said he patched up all his differences with Hillary and Bill Clinton.

“I have spoken to President and Secretary Clinton and we have patched up our disagreement from the 2008 election,” the statement read, according to ABC News. “I am pleased to announce I wholeheartedly support Secretary Clinton’s candidacy for the Presidency. Her leadership on issues like foreign policy, immigration, climate change and economic populism are important to the future of the country.”

Clinton is the favorite to win the Democratic nomination. Richardson has said a number of times that he believes she will be the nominee, though he previously declined to endorse.

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has received huge crowds throughout the country and is competitive in the polls in Iowa and New Hampshire; however, he trails Clinton in states with larger minority populations, such as South Carolina and Nevada.

Richardson famously found himself on the outs from the Clintons after he endorsed then-Sen. Barack Obama in the 2008 elections. Richardson had run for the Democratic nomination that year but it was the endorsement of Obama in the Democratic primary that drew the Clintons’ ire.

That year, Bill Clinton traveled to New Mexico to watch the Super Bowl with Richardson. Richardson had dropped out of the race weeks before after fourth-place finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, far behind Clinton and Obama.

Weeks later, Richardson endorsed Obama for the Democratic nomination.

Richardson revealed in a book that this helped end the relationship between himself and the Clintons.

Richardson served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and the Secretary of Energy while Bill Clinton was president.

Richardson was nominated to be the Commerce Secretary under Barack Obama but withdrew amid controversy over an investigation into pay-to-play allegations dating back to his time as governor.

In an appearance on the conservative cable news station Newsmax TV, Richardson declined to make an endorsement.

“I’m a low-level player now,” Richardson said while laughing. “I’m out of it.”

This was just three days before endorsing Clinton.

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