Richardson's Departure Good News for Hillary in California, Western States

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson's apparent decision to drop out of the Democratic Presidential race is good news for Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign in California.
 
Though he had little top-tier support (Assemblymember Joe Coto of the Latino Caucus was his most prominent Golden State backer), Richardson was only polling three percent in the latest PPIC poll. But his backers come from two quarters: voters who were impressed by his resume and Latinos.
 
Both of those groups fall squarely into Clinton's camp. Here in California, Clinton held a 41.6-21.8 edge over Obama among Latinos, with Richardson at 4.6 percent in the latest Field Poll. Clinton also has the backing of the state's leading Latino politicos, from Speaker Fabian Nunez to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the bulk of leading members of the Latino Caucus.
 
Richardson also has been Clinton's most effective foil in debates, including last Saturday's in New Hampshire, where he turned the tables on Edwards and Obama's ridiculing of experience vs. change. That's no more obvious than in foreign affairs Obama has zero foreign policy experience (as does Edwards). If Clinton continues to hammer Obama and Edwards on their inexperience, Richardson (President Bill Clinton's former Secretary of Energy) may also be there to swing more votes in Hillary's favor.

Photo courtesy The Washington Note.