Veteran Presidential Campaign Strategist Jerry Crawford Calls for Unity Ticket, Praises VoteBoth.com

DES MOINES, IA--Veteran Democratic Party leader Jerry Crawford today endorsed a “dream ticket” with both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, saying it is time for the Party to unite regardless of who wins the nomination. “This election is more important than Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton,” Crawford said. “For the sake of our Party and our country, Barack and Hillary need to take a hard look at running together.”

“Right now, our Party is brother against brother, literally—my brother is for Barack and I support Hillary. Soon we are all going to have to do what VoteBoth is doing--take a deep breath and have a serious conversation about how Democrats win in November.”

Crawford, a Des Moines native, is widely renowned as one of the Party’s savviest strategists and fundraisers. He has chaired the Iowa campaigns of the previous five Democratic nominees: John Kerry, Al Gore, Bill Clinton (twice), and Michael Dukakis. Crawford initially backed Tom Vilsack’s unsuccessful White House bid and last year endorsed Clinton, who named him her Midwest Co-Chair.

Since Crawford chaired the Dukakis campaign’s Iowa bid in 1988, the Democratic nominee has won the Hawkeye State every four years except in 2004, when George W. Bush edged out John Kerry by a razor-thin 49.9%-49.23% margin. Iowa is a must-win state for Democrats in November.

Crawford joins the growing ranks of prominent Democrats supporting a unity ticket with both Obama and Clinton. Representatives David Scott (GA) and Stephanie Tubbs Jones (OH), both outspoken advocates for Obama and Clinton, respectively, argued Monday that a unity ticket was essential for victory in November. Other unity ticket backers include Governor Ed Rendell (PA), former Governor Mario M. Cuomo (NY), Senator Charles E. Schumer (NY), and DLC chairman and former Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. (TN).

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Editor’s Note: Media wishing to interview Jerry Crawford should contact Sam Arora at media@voteboth.com [1].