--- title: Hillary Clinton's Primary Challenger: Progressive Idealism description: Hillary Clinton will not face a serious primary challenger, but she may have all the trappings of one—in the form of progressive ideas. canonical: https://time.com/3756112/hillary-clinton-primary-liberals/ author: Haley Sweetland Edwards article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-24T17:39:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:54.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Round 1: Hillary Clinton vs. Liberal Ideas og:description: Liberals aren't letting the lack of a primary challenger stop them. og:url: https://time.com/3756112/hillary-clinton-primary-liberals/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb5f8f0b627b506d2/698783c3cd1bba3f566f5b3d/465793482.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Hillary Clinton Holds Press Conference Over Email Controversy og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Round 1: Hillary Clinton vs. Liberal Ideas twitter:description: Liberals aren't letting the lack of a primary challenger stop them. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb5f8f0b627b506d2/698783c3cd1bba3f566f5b3d/465793482.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Round 1: Hillary Clinton vs. Liberal Ideas ## Video: Hillary Clinton Talks Economy at EMILY Gala [Watch (HLS stream): Hillary Clinton Talks Economy at EMILY Gala](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/RsesWtI8.m3u8) (0:27)  _Published 2015-03-04. Hillary Clinton called for equal pay and talked economy at the 30th anniversary of EMILY's List gala Tuesday night._  by [Haley Sweetland Edwards](/author/haley-sweetland-edwards/)  ## Haley Sweetland Edwards Mar 24, 2015 5:39 PM CUT  Former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks to the media after keynoting a Women's Empowerment Event at the United Nations on March 10, 2015 in New York City. Former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks to the media after keynoting a Women's Empowerment Event at the United Nations on March 10, 2015 in New York City.Yana Paskova—Getty Images  by [Haley Sweetland Edwards](/author/haley-sweetland-edwards/)  ## Haley Sweetland Edwards Mar 24, 2015 5:39 PM CUT Hillary Clinton does not face a serious primary challenger for the Democratic nomination in 2016, but that isn’t stopping some liberals from putting together the trappings for one. The handful of Democrats who have expressed interest in challenging Clinton — Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb — are all polling double digits behind her and raising minimal funds. None have the kind of name recognition that could seriously threaten her inevitable march to the nomination. But that’s not stopping some on the left from trying their hand at the classic primary squeeze play of raising issues in the primary in an effort to persuade her to adopt them. Over the weekend, during his first foray into the early caucus state of Iowa, O’Malley called for tougher sanctions on Wall Street and “too-big-to-fail” banks, and for reinstating Glass-Steagall, a law that separated commercial and investment banking which was repealed in 1999\. He also called for strongly supporting the long-embattled Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which was passed in 2010 response to the financial crisis. “Today, most Republicans in Congress are hell-bent on disassembling the Dodd-Frank Act,” O’Malley’s PAC, O’Say Can You See, wrote in a press release Monday, [along with a link to a petition](http://action.martinomalley.com/page/s/wall-street-reform "undefined"). “And too many Democrats have been complicit in the backslide toward less regulation.” O’Malley’s populist swing came the same weekend that the Boston _Globe_ featured [a splashy package](http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2015/03/21/democrats-need-elizabeth-warren-voice-presidential-race/TJkJtbu3UYaJYBmVHcrAcI/story.html "undefined") begging Massachusetts Senator and liberal hero Elizabeth Warren to run for president. “Democrats need Elizabeth Warren’s Voice in the 2016 presidential race,” the editorial board urged. (The idea is not totally out of left field, as it were. Though Warren has said repeatedly that she is not running for president, she has been somewhat cagey about it. She studiously uses the present tense — “I am not running for president” — and has yet to endorse a Clinton candidacy.) This week, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee also re-upped its ongoing effort to motivate liberals to challenge Clinton’s famously Wall Street-friendly economic positions. Liberals should join New Hampshire and Iowa leaders in urging candidates to “[campaign on big, bold, economic populist ideas](We want the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee to campaign on big, bold, economic-populist ideas that tangibly improve the lives of millions of Americans. We urge all candidates for president to campaign on big, bold ideas -- such as establishing a national goal of debt-free college at all public colleges and universities, expanding Social Security benefits instead of cutting them, creating millions of clean-energy jobs, reducing big-money influence in politics, breaking up the "undefined"),” the PCCC urged. “The more momentum we get, the more Hillary Clinton and others will take notice.” So what’s all this clamoring, calling-to-arms actually add up to? Liberal optimists argue that it’s the only thing that will help scooch Clinton to the left at a time when she’s already planning her general election strategy. They believe that Clinton will adopt some of their positions in order to win the full-throated endorsement of key liberals such as Warren who she’ll need to rally the base in 2016. Liberal pessimisists say it’s all for naught. Without a face to put on these ideas — or even a name on a ballot — the left won’t have enough clout to persuade Clinton to change course. Even if she doesn’t adopt any of their ideas, Clinton could still rally the liberal base in the general election because she’d be the first female president, by adopting other liberal planks or by running against the right Republican. ### See the 2016 Candidates Looking Very Presidential  Sen. Ted Cruz is surrounded by stars and stripes at the 2014 Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. on September 26, 2014. Mark Peterson—Redux  Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton gazes pensively into the distance at Iowa Senator Tom Harken'a annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis for TIME  Jeb Bush Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush flashes a power watch before giving his keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform in Washington on Nov. 20, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Bernie Sanders waves to supporters after officially announcing his candidacy for the U.S. presidency during an event at Waterfront Park in Burlington, Vermont, on May 26, 2015. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Chris Christie New Jersey Governor Chris Christie strikes a presidential power stance at the ceremony for the opening of the 206 bypass in Hillsborough, New Jersey on October 28, 2013. Mark Peterson—Redux  Former Hewlett-Packard Co Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina listens to her introduction from the side of the stage at the Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 24, 2015. Jim Young—Reuters  Rand Paul Sen. Rand Paul works a crowd during a campaign stop on October 24, 2014 in McDonough, Georgia. Jessica McGowan—Getty Images  Rick Perry Texas Gov. Rick Perry looks powerfully patriotic during the National Anthem before an NCAA college football game on Nov. 27, 2014, in College Station, Texas. David J. Phillip—AP  Bobby Jindal Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal looks to the future during The Family Leadership Summit on Aug. 9, 2014, in Ames, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall—AP  Martin O'Malley Maryland Governor Martin OíMalley ponders decorating ideas in front of his possible future home on CBS's Face the Nation on Feb. 23, 2014. Chris Usher—AP  Marco Rubio Sen. Marco Rubio looks determined the morning after the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. on January 29, 2014. Melissa Golden—Redux  Ben CarsonBen Carson at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference on March 8, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Jim Webb Retiring Sen. Jim Webb imitates the presidential wave during a rally in Virginia Beach, Va. on Sept. 27, 2012. Steve Helber—AP  John Kasich Ohio Gov. John Kasich practices his presidential victory pose at the Ohio Republican Party celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, in Columbus, Ohio. Tony Dejak—AP  Rick Santorum Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum looks resolute at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 7, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Scott Walker Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker practices the presidential point on March 3, 2014 in Milwaukee. Jeffrey Phelps—AP  Mike Huckabee Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee fine-tunes his presidential oratory at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference in National Harbor, Md. on March 7, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Lincoln Chafee, Former Rhode Island Governor, poses for a selfie with a student after announcing he will seek the Democratic nomination for president in Arlington, Va. on June 3, 2015. Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Lindsey Graham Lindsey Graham announced his plans to join the 2016 presidential race. Alex Wong—Getty Images  George Pataki Former New York governor George Pataki listens to a question at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire, in this April 17, 2015 file photo. 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