Democratic Party Officially Nominates Clinton

The delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have officially nominated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D) as the Democratic Party candidate for President of the United States. She will stand in the November general election against the Republican nominee, real estate mogul Donald Trump (R).

Clinton has been the presumptive Democratic nominee since securing a majority of pledged party convention delegates in June, following a difficult primary against an insurgent outsider, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Today’s convention vote makes that nomination official. Clinton is joined on the Democratic ticket by her vice presidential running mate, Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA).

Clinton served as a law professor in Fayetteville, Arkansas, before her husband, former President Bill Clinton (D), was elected Arkansas Attorney General in 1976. The couple then moved to Little Rock and Hillary took a position at the Rose Law Firm and later became a partner. She also served on a number of boards, including six years on the Board of Directors of the Arkansas-based retail giant WalMart.

Bill Clinton served as Governor of Arkansas in two stints between 1978 and 1992. He was elected President of the United States in 1992 and served two terms. Hillary, in her role as First Lady of Arkansas and then First Lady of the United States, became increasingly involved in politics during this period. Most notably, she lead an ill-fated health care reform effort during Bill’s first term as president.

As Bill Clinton prepared to leave the White House, Hillary campaigned for an open U.S. Senate seat in New York. She was elected in 2000, and then reelected to a second term in 2006. She ran for the Democratic Party nomination for president in 2008, but lost to now-President Barack Obama (D). After Obama was elected, he nominated his erstwhile opponent to serve as Secretary of State. Clinton served until her resignation in 2013. If elected in November, Hillary Clinton would be the first woman, and the first spouse of a former president, to serve as President of the United States.

The Democratic Party is the last of the three ‘fifty-state’ parties to officially select its presidential and vice presidential nominees. The Libertarian Party selected its nominees at the Libertarian Nominating Convention in Orlando, Florida, on May 30. The Republican Party selected its nominees at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 19. The Green Party, which is the largest of the ‘non-fifty-state’ parties, expects to be on the ballot in at least twenty states and will select its nominees at the Green Party Presidential Nominating Convention in Houston, Texas, on August 6.