RYAN LOVELACE: Did Hillary Clinton’s lawyer inadvertently expose her electoral nightmares?
Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign has filed lawsuits in Wisconsin and Ohio to fight voting rights laws passed by Republicans, and some say those lawsuits could be read as a sign that Clinton is worried about winning those states in 2016.
In 2012, both Wisconsin and Ohio went blue for President Obama. But they’re considered swing states now, and with Midwestern GOP contenders such as Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker poised to enter the presidential race, Clinton may have turned to her superstar lawyer to help eliminate her GOP competition.
Marc Elias serves as general counsel of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. He has filed lawsuits in Wisconsin and Ohio, and more may be coming.
The Clinton campaign has insisted it had nothing to do with the liberal legal warfare, but Elias typically intervenes on behalf of Democrats in desperate need of assistance. He “emerged as the star” of the 2008 recount battle that resulted in Minnesota Sen. Al Franken, a “Saturday Night Live” alum, upsetting a Republican incumbent by just 312 votes.
And when Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., suddenly appeared vulnerable in last year’s midterm elections, Democrats called on Elias to ensure that Roberts would square off solely against one liberal opponent, independent Greg Orman, by removing the Democratic candidate from the ballot. A favorite of the outgoing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Elias reportedly helped Democrats sneak a provision into a spending bill late last year that raised the maximum amount of money that donors can provide to Democrats and Republicans.
As 2016 approaches, Elias joined the Clinton campaign and appears to have begun waging a full-bore attack against the GOP. His lawsuit in Wisconsin alleges that several state laws — including the controversial voter ID law that has already survived judicial scrutiny — needlessly restrict citizens’ right to vote.
The GOP is way behind on the lawfare front. They need to raise their game, pronto.