Bill Clinton to Headline Maloney Fund-Raiser By Bernie Becker

Bill Clinton to Headline Maloney Fund-Raiser
By Bernie Becker

Former President Bill Clinton will headline a fund-raiser later this month for Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, the New York Democrat who has all but announced that she will mount a primary challenge against Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand.

A spokesman for the former president said the July 20 fundraiser was part of a round of events the president had scheduled for supporters of his wife's 2008 presidential campaign.

"We agreed to do this some time ago as a way to say thank you to Congresswoman Maloney," said the spokesman, Matt McKenna.

The event will raise money for Ms. Maloney's House fund-raising account, but she will be allowed to use those funds for a Senate race. The Manhattan-based Ms. Maloney has not formally declared her Senate bid, but, as The Times's Raymond Hernandez reported on Thursday, that announcement is expected in the coming days.

The former president, who headlined a fund-raiser for Ms. Gillibrand in March, has not made an endorsement in the Senate race, which is the seat his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, held for eight years.

And several of Mrs. Clinton's advisers from her campaigns have been helping Ms. Gillibrand.

Both Ms. Maloney and Ms. Gillibrand supported Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential bid, as did Representative Steve Israel, the Long Island Democrat who had openly discussed challenging Ms. Gillibrand before backing off after being pressured by the Obama administration.

Mr. McKenna said the former president had made a similar commitment to raise funds for Mr. Israel and, "if he would have run for the Senate, we would have kept it as well."

The White House, which had hoped to avoid a heated primary in the race, also called Ms. Maloney to see if she would forgo challenging Ms. Gillibrand.

But Ms. Maloney plans to plow ahead, something Mr. Hernandez reported has made her "something of an outcast" among New York Democrats.

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Posted by The Dark Knight on July 6 2009 at 2:56 PM