New emails show that the former secretary of state kept an eye on 2016 long before the elections started. | AP Photo At State Dept., Hillary Clinton kept tabs on 2016 The latest email dump shows a hunger for intel on the domestic political scene – and an eye toward presidential politics.

“Pls print,” Hillary Clinton emailed an aide, attaching a link to a gossipy blog post detailing Vice President Joe Biden’s guest list at a reception he hosted for prominent New Hampshire Democrats in 2013.

“Webb Won't Run Again,” was the headline of an article forwarded by a top State Department official, reporting that Jim Webb — a Virginia senator thought at the time to have ambitions for national office — would not seek another term.


And with no commentary other than a casual “FYI,” Clinton's chief of staff Cheryl Mills in 2012 shared a one-line update on how New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was fueling his own presidential speculation with news that he was penning a memoir.

The latest email dump of 7,800 Clinton messages shows the former secretary of state dealing primarily with her day job handling the country’s international concerns. But quietly, throughout her four years heading the State Department — and most often without overt political commentary — Clinton’s top aides fed her tidbits of gossip and updates on the movements of other political players who could affect the presidential election landscape, the new batch reveals.

Clinton’s return to the national political scene last April was pitched as a comeback story. She had been out of the national loop for so long, the narrative went, that she required down time to thoughtfully assess whether or not to run again. Her eventual return required a soft launch “ramp up” phase to help Clinton reacquaint herself with the problems of everyday Americans and the rhythms of campaign life.

But in the latest release of State Department emails, Clinton divulges an appetite for the gossip and granular detail of national politics that’s more typically associated with her husband, Bill Clinton. And it suggests that even after a brutal loss in 2008 and thoughts of "never again," Hillary Clinton never completely turned her gaze away from the mechanics of presidential politics.

“If Mittens can’t beat Grinch in Florida,” she wrote to her friend Sidney Blumenthal during the 2012 election, referring to Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, “there will be pressure on state Republican parties to reopen or liberalize ballot access especially in the caucuses, which as we know are creatures of the parties’ extremes.”

Her observation was a familiar complaint: The Clintons have both been frustrated by caucus states, especially Iowa, which handily rejected Hillary Clinton in 2008.

In another email, Clinton shows an awareness of subtle changes to the national map that could affect future elections.

“At least someone agrees with me,” Mills wrote to Clinton, forwarding her a Washington Post story analyzing how the 2012 electoral map had shifted since President Barack Obama’s election. “More than one!” Clinton responded.

While Clinton kept tabs on the Republicans angling for the 2012 nomination, she also made sure to keep alive her own network from the failed 2008 campaign.

That same year, Clinton agreed to let her former policy adviser Neera Tanden organize a reunion for campaign staffers to keep them connected.

“If you think the reunion would be a good idea, please go ahead,” Clinton wrote to Tanden, who pitched the idea even though she predicted it would engender some eye-rolling from the White House. “There were so many wonderful people involved in the campaign, and I am very proud of all they – and we – did. Onward!” Clinton said, giving her blessing to the gathering.

Clinton also received political updates from Blumenthal, who in 2010 wrote her a 950-word memo outlining the state of play in Washington.

“David Axelrod is whining about Rahm [Emanuel] and Obama not following his wisdom, whining that he hates Washington, isn't part of it, doesn't get it, doesn't want to get it, and yearns to leave,” Blumenthal wrote to Clinton in a section detailing the political chaos inside the White House. “Bill's empathetic appeal to voters to give the Democrats a chance for two more years can only be done by him.”

Clinton wasn’t merely gathering political intelligence in the course of globe-trotting. She took time out of her schedule to cultivate top Democratic donors, such as Steven Spielberg. In a 2012 phone call, Clinton helped brief the movie director and producer before he was to meet with then-Israeli President Shimon Peres, according to her emails. This cycle, Spielberg has donated $1 million to Priorities USA Action, the super PAC backing Clinton’s run.

Clinton also maintained her relationships with important allies in early voting states. In 2009, her schedule shows that Lou D’Allesandro, a New Hampshire state senator who in 2007 served as national co-chairman of Italian-Americans for Hillary, dropped by for a “quick hello.”

The Associated Press reported Monday that Clinton kept in touch with nearly 100 corporate executives, as well as political and family foundation donors, during her four years at the State Department via face-to-face meetings and phone calls.

The emails disclosed another constant: a steady drumbeat from Clinton loyalists who believed she would be a strong contender again in 2016.

“Twitter is on fire with HRC’s testimony,” longtime aide Minyon Moore wrote to Mills in 2013 as Clinton made her first appearance in front of the Benghazi Committee — a message Mills forwarded to Clinton with no additional commentary. “2016 — she had better run and hide.”

Clinton did not reply.

