Ready for Hillary targets New Hampshire

A pro-Hillary Clinton super-PAC sent an adviser to the all-important first primary state of New Hampshire this week to meet with party activists and begin organizing Clinton supporters.

According to the Union-Leader, Craig Smith, a national adviser to the Ready for Hillary PAC, visited the Granite State on Monday and met with Democratic Party leaders, including state Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley.

{mosads}“Basically, we’re up here to continue our mission, which is to build a broad national grassroots organization of people who believe that [Hillary Clinton] is the most qualified person” to be the next president, “and to encourage her to run in 2016,” Smith told the newspaper.

He also suggested that the group is looking toward 2014 as a training ground for 2016.

“[We] want to make sure we build capacity, not only in terms of a broad based list of supporters, but who are also available to work in this year’s midterm elections. We hope they use that to help the broader Democratic Party and to develop skills, and get these people trained so they are ready in 2016, if she gets ready,” he said.

Clinton has not yet made her 2016 plans public, but has led the Democratic field in every poll of the race. Ready for Hillary is an unofficial effort to build a grassroots infrastructure in case of a Clinton bid.

Terry Shumaker, the top New Hampshire adviser to the PAC, said Smith was in the Granite State “getting the lay of the land, meeting with people, explaining to people” what the PAC hopes to do in New Hampshire, “and what it isn’t. And then we hope to go from here.”

Ready for Hillary is hoping to launch a group of New Hampshire supporters in the coming weeks, and Smith has a trip to Iowa, another important first caucus state, planned for later this month.