Pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC created

Introduction

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s political future may not be clear, but her backers have already created a new super PAC to support a potential 2016 presidential bid.

A group called “Ready for Hillary” registered Friday with the Federal Election Commission. Its chairperson? Allida Black, a George Washington University professor and historian, who has been a vocal Clinton supporter for years.

Four years ago, Black called for President Barack Obama to name Clinton as his vice presidential pick, and she helped launch a political action committee called WomenCount that pushed back against calls for Clinton to drop out of the 2008 Democratic presidential primary. In its first month of operation, WomenCount PAC raised more than $350,000.

“She’s the candidate that I have wanted for decades,” Black, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, told The New Republic in 2008. “I had heard about Hillary for a good 15 years before Bill ran in ’92, and I was for Bill because of Hillary.”

Ready for Hillary’s treasurer is listed as Judy A. Beck, who is married to Black, according to Black’s Twitter profile.

This is the second Hillary Clinton-themed super PAC to materialize this month. Davenport, Iowa, resident Nigel Wallace formed Hillary Clinton Super PAC on January 10. He declined to comment on its creation.

Update: Jan. 28, 2013, 3:55 p.m.: In an email to the Center for Public Integrity, Black described Ready for Hillary as “a small group of skilled and dedicated Hillary supporters and Obama supporters” who are ready to devote their “organizational expertise and energy to helping Hillary become president.” She continued: “Our purpose is simple: we are ready to work for Hillary to be president when she is ready to run. When our website launches in a few weeks, we plan to reach out to our grassroots networks and contributors to mobilize them to support her.”