Hillary Clinton made it official Monday in Concord, New Hampshire, when she filed for the state’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary.
Flanked by well-known New Hampshire supporters and photos of the last 12 primaries, Clinton signed the form declaring her candidacy in New Hampshire and paid the $1,000 filing fee.
She told reporters after filing that she does not feel inevitable, a word used to describe her campaign when she filed in 2007.
“That is not how it feels,” Clinton said. “I am back again and I intend to do everything I can to be successful this time.”
Standing next to Clinton as she signed the paperwork was Dick Swett, former congressman from New Hampshire; Jim Demers, President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign co-chairman; Susan Lynch, former New Hampshire first lady; Bill Shaheen, Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s husband; Tom Hassan, first gentleman of New Hampshire, and Terry Shumaker, a longtime Clinton adviser in the state.
This is the fourth time Clinton has filed for herself or someone else in New Hampshire. She filed for her husband in 1991 and 1995 and did it in 2007 for her first presidential run.
Each time, Clinton has filed with Secretary of State Bill Gardner, who accepted Clinton’s paperwork again on Monday. Gardner has been secretary of state since 1976 and is widely viewed as the biggest defender of New Hampshire’s status.
Clinton filed for the primary Monday on a stronger footing in New Hampshire than she had during the summer when Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders had pulled ahead in public polling.
The most recent Monmouth University poll had Clinton up 3 percentage points in the state, a departure from the wide lead Sanders built over the summer.
Clinton’s filing kicks off a two-day, five-event swing through the Granite State. After filing, she will hold a rally on the steps of the New Hampshire State Capitol. Monday afternoon, Clinton will pick up the endorsement of the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund at an event launching Environmentalists for Hillary in Nashua and then attend a town hall in Windham.
On Tuesday, Clinton headlines events in Derry and Hanover.