--- title: Why Hillary Clinton Needs Surrogates description: Hillary Clinton is relying on a growing list of surrogates to boost her campaign, most notably Michelle Obama, her most effective surrogate. canonical: https://time.com/4548914/why-hillary-clinton-needs-surrogates/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-28T14:54:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T06:52:22.728Z article:section: Politics og:title: Why Hillary Clinton Needs Surrogates og:description: Hillary Clinton is relying on a growing list of surrogates to boost her campaign, most notably Michelle Obama, her most effective surrogate. og:url: https://time.com/4548914/why-hillary-clinton-needs-surrogates/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Morning Must Reads og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Hillary Clinton Needs Surrogates twitter:description: Hillary Clinton is relying on a growing list of surrogates to boost her campaign, most notably Michelle Obama, her most effective surrogate. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Hillary Clinton Needs Surrogates > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. 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. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=b1a6f332-6bc5-4385-aadd-deb0911799b1&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Michelle Obama Campaigns for Hillary Clinton [Watch (HLS stream): Michelle Obama Campaigns for Hillary Clinton](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/RlLzmirb.m3u8) (2:09)  _Published 2016-10-27. Obama has already campaigned notably for Clinton, but the Winston-Salem rally marks the first time she’s campaigning with the nominee._ by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Oct 28, 2016 2:54 PM UTC Obama has already campaigned notably for Clinton, but the Winston-Salem rally marks the first time she’s campaigning with the nominee. by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Oct 28, 2016 2:54 PM UTC **_If you only read one thing:_** _Hillary Clinton is relying on an ever-growing list of Democratic surrogates to boost her campaign, most notably the Obamas. First Lady Michelle Obama—easily Clinton’s most effective surrogate at reaching out to disaffected millennial, women, and African American voters—offered a much-needed testimony in support of her husband’s one-time rival. Contrast that to Donald Trump, who almost never appears with any GOP candidates, let alone plugging support for them on the campaign trail. With Election Day approaching, it’s the small things like an effective surrogate operation than can help make a difference and help to give Clinton a distinct advantage magnifying her message in the final stretch. Polls are tightening, meanwhile, as some Republican voters begin to “come home,” amid a week of relatively less bad news about their nominee as well as increased scrutiny of the Clinton campaign and Clinton Foundation. Mike Pence has taken the lead at making the “come home” argument to GOP voters, while Trump has tried to do his part to stop pushing them away._ The last round of campaign finance reports ahead of the Nov. 8 election were released Thursday, showing Clinton with a more than 3-1 cash advantage over Trump going into the final stretch, as Trump stopped transferring significant funds to his campaign in the opening weeks of October. The $33,000 investment brought his total over the campaign to about $56 million—far short of the $100 million he has promised in recent television interviews. And even if Trump were to transfer the balance to his campaign in the final days, experts doubt it will have much of an impact this late. Clinton looks at Biden. Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk gets himself deeper into trouble. And the Secret Service isn’t being paid everything it’s owed. _Here are your must reads:_ **Must Reads** [Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton Hit the Road Together ](http://time.com/4548363/michelle-obama-hillary-clinton-north-carolina/)Clinton leans on most popular Democratic surrogate \[TIME\] [‘Vote Flipping’ Happens, But It Doesn’t Mean the Election Is Rigged ](http://time.com/4547594/vote-flipping-election-rigged/)Trump’s claims of fraud don’t add up, TIME’s Haley Sweetland Edwards explains [Trump Gives $33,000 in October, Falling Short of $100M Boast ](https://apnews.com/e57c3d1de6474dd1b854fdb44b8a9641)Candidate cash dries up in final stretch \[Associated Press\] [After Flipping Against Trump, Why Some Republicans Are Now Embracing the Flop ](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/10/28/after-flipping-against-trump-why-some-republicans-are-embracing-the-flop/)Profiles in Courage no more \[Washington Post\] [Chelsea Clinton’s Frustrations and Devotion Shown in Hacked Emails ](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/28/us/politics/bill-chelsea-clinton-foundation.html?em%5Fpos=medium&emc=edit%5Fcn%5F20161028&nl=first-draft&nl%5Fart=0&nlid=55003713&ref=headline&te=1&%5Fr=0)The struggles of the first daughter and campaign surrogate \[New York Times\] **Sound Off** “People wonder — yes, Hillary Clinton is my friend.” —Michelle Obama stumping with Hillary Clinton Thursday in North Carolina “If we can win big, he can whine all he wants.” —Tim Kaine in Ohio on Donald Trump’s complaints that the election is rigged. **Bits and Bites** [President Obama Commutes Sentences for 98 Inmates](http://time.com/4548529/president-obama-commutes-98-sentences/) \[Associated Press\] [Yes, the Post Office Will Still Deliver Your Mail-In Ballot Without a Stamp](http://time.com/4547550/absentee-mail-ballot-postage-stamp-postal-service-usps/) \[TIME\] [Latest Hillary Clinton Sting Doesn’t Live Up to Its Hype](http://time.com/4547193/hillary-clinton-foreign-money/) \[TIME\] [Sen. Mark Kirk questions opponent’s American heritage in Illinois debate](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/10/27/sen-mark-kirk-questions-opponents-american-heritage-in-illinois-debate/?tid=sm%5Ftw) \[Washington Post\] [Clinton eyes Biden for secretary of state](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/clinton-eyes-biden-for-secretary-of-state-230428) \[Politico\] [Trump campaign wants ‘no waffling’ and no ‘week knees’ from House GOP](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/10/28/trump-campaign-wants-no-waffling-or-week-knees-from-house-gop/) \[Washington Post\] [Donald Trump threatens legal action against NBC over ‘Access Hollywood’ tape](http://money.cnn.com/2016/10/27/media/donald-trump-nbc-access-hollywood/index.html) \[Washington Post\] [Israeli GOP Group Accepts Donations From non-Americans; Experts Question Legality](http://www.haaretz.com/world-news/u-s-election-2016/1.749587) \[Haaretz\] [Secret Service Agents Protecting Candidates Aren’t Getting Paid For All Their Work](https://www.buzzfeed.com/rubycramer/secret-service-agents-protecting-candidates-arent-getting-pa?utm%5Fterm=.oh72bmE50&ref=mobile%5Fshare#.fqlQOYoEL) \[BuzzFeed\] ## Transcript [00:00] Seriously is there anyone more inspiring than Michelle [00:03] Obama? And [00:09] maybe it's especially meaningful to me because I do [00:13] know something about being First Lady of the United [00:15] States. As our first African American first lady, [00:19] she's faced pressures I never did. [ APPLAUSE ] And [00:25] she's handled them with pure grace. She [00:31] also planted an amazing vegetable garden at the White [00:35] House. And [00:40] I can promise you if I win I will take good care of it [00:44] Michelle. You may have noticed That I have been doing [00:49] some campaigning for Hilary. [ APPLAUSE ] And I know [00:53] that there's some folks out there who have commented [00:56] that it's been unprecedented for a sitting First Lady to [01:00] be so actively engaged in a presidential campaign. [01:06] [ APPLAUSE ] And that may be true [ LAUGH ] But [01:10] what's also true is that this is truly an unprecedented [01:15] election. Hillary doesn't play, she [01:19] has more experience and exposure to the Presidency [01:23] than any candidate in our lifetime. Yes, [01:27] more than Barack. More than Bill. So she [01:32] is absolutely ready to be commander- in- chief on day [01:36] one, and yes, she happens to be a woman. [01:41] Hillary is a policy wonk, and [01:45] let me tell you, when you are president That is a good [01:48] thing. So when you hear folks talking about a global [01:52] conspiracy and saying that this election is rigged, [01:56] understand that they are trying to get you to stay [01:59] home. The voters decide our elections. They've always [02:03] decided. Voters decide who wins and who loses, [02:03] period, end of story. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4548914/why-hillary-clinton-needs-surrogates/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4548914/why-hillary-clinton-needs-surrogates/"},"headline":"Why Hillary Clinton Needs Surrogates","datePublished":"2016-10-28T14:54:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-07T06:52:22.728Z","description":"Morning Must Reads: October 28","url":"https://time.com/4548914/why-hillary-clinton-needs-surrogates/","keywords":["Morning Must Reads"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Morning Must Reads","caption":"Capitol","creditText":"Mark Wilson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4548914/why-hillary-clinton-needs-surrogates/","name":"Why Hillary Clinton Needs Surrogates"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Michelle Obama Campaigns for Hillary Clinton","description":"Obama has already campaigned notably for Clinton, but the Winston-Salem rally marks the first time she’s campaigning with the nominee.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/RlLzmirb/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-10-27T21:09:16.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/RlLzmirb.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4548914/why-hillary-clinton-needs-surrogates/","duration":"PT2M9S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4548914/why-hillary-clinton-needs-surrogates/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```