House races

Kirkpatrick ducks on Clinton 2016

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Vulnerable Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.) may not be ready for Hillary. 

The Democratic congresswoman — who backed Barack Obama over Clinton in the 2008 Democratic primary — won’t say whether she’d like to see Clinton run for president in 2016. 

{mosads}Asked if she’d like to see the former secretary of State run for the White House one more time, Kirkpatrick hesitated, then replied: “You know, I have some different thoughts about it.”

Pressed again about who she’d like to see run, Kirkpatrick said, “I need to get through this election.”

“Of course, our campaign gears up for the next election cycle immediately,” she said during an interview Wednesday at a coffee shop in Flagstaff, Ariz. “I tell my staff, ‘You’ve got 15 minutes off. Sleep well.'”

So far this cycle, even former Obama backers have quickly lined up behind Clinton, the presumptive Democratic front-runner if she decides to run. A super-PAC, Ready for Hillary, has already been laying the groundwork for a possible run in the early primary states. 

Kirkpatrick, a top GOP target this cycle, will square off against Arizona state House Speaker Andy Tobin in the November election.