--- title: Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick Worried About Hillary Clinton description: The Massachusetts governor and California Senator Dianne Feinstein say Hillary Clinton's current high profile could be an obstacle in 2016 canonical: https://time.com/104010/deval-patrick-hillary-clinton/ author: Nolan Feeney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-18T15:35:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:47:50.140Z article:section: Politics og:title: Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick Worried About Hillary Clinton og:description: The Massachusetts governor and California Senator Dianne Feinstein say Hillary Clinton's current high profile could be an obstacle in 2016 og:url: https://time.com/104010/deval-patrick-hillary-clinton/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba46d29609774d06/69869002810bbb1eaec91a61/ap93379353201.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: Deval Patrick og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick Worried About Hillary Clinton twitter:description: The Massachusetts governor and California Senator Dianne Feinstein say Hillary Clinton's current high profile could be an obstacle in 2016 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba46d29609774d06/69869002810bbb1eaec91a61/ap93379353201.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Mass. Gov Deval Patrick: 'I Worry a Little Bit' About Hillary Clinton > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney May 18, 2014 3:35 PM UTC  Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick gestures during a news conference at the Statehouse in Boston, Jan. 22, 2014. Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick gestures during a news conference at the Statehouse in Boston, Jan. 22, 2014. Charles Krupa—AP  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney May 18, 2014 3:35 PM UTC Democratic Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said the “inevitability” of Hillary Clinton’s [possible presidential bid in 2016](http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/05/18/deval-patrick-on-hillary-clinton-i-worry-a-little-bit/) could hurt her campaign if she decides to run. “I guess I worry a little bit,” Patrick said during a Sunday appearance on CNN’s _State of the Union_. “She’s an enormously capable candidate and leader. But I do worry about the inevitability thing, because I think it’s off-putting to the average \[voter\].” Patrick, whose own name has come up as a possible Democratic candidate, said he did not know if the former secretary of state will decide to run. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, said she was similarly concerned about Clinton’s visibility and popularity during an appearance on the same show Sunday. “I did talk with her and thought it would be better that she not get out there early, because her favorability was so high that all that could happen in this is go down — because somebody would do the stupid things that Karl Rove has just done,” Feinstein said. California Governor Jerry Brown, another Democrat, also expressed concerns Sunday about Clinton’s frontrunner status. “Being a frontrunner is being on a perch that everyone else is going to try to knock you off of,” Brown said on ABC’s _This Week_. “So she’s there. She’s got the capacity. But like any frontrunner, she has to be cautious and wise in how she proceeds forward.” Clinton lost to Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary. \[[_CNN_](http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/05/18/deval-patrick-on-hillary-clinton-i-worry-a-little-bit/)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/104010/deval-patrick-hillary-clinton/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/104010/deval-patrick-hillary-clinton/"},"headline":"Mass. 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