Hillary Clinton Addresses Women's Luncheon in San Francisco

Hillary Rodham Clinton is urging Democratic voters not to be complacent about the November midterm elections, saying working women and their families will lose out on a better future if Republicans gain control of both houses of Congress.

Clinton made the remarks during a sold-out women's luncheon in San Francisco that raised $1.4 million for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

The fundraiser was hosted by House Democratic leader and former speaker Nancy Pelosi. Referring to the possibility of Clinton running for president in 2016, Pelosi joked that she was ready to give up her own title as the highest-ranking woman in U.S. politics.

Clinton told her overwhelmingly female audience that only Democrats have fought and would continue fighting to raise the minimum wage and for paid family leave and other policies that primarily benefit low-income and middle-class women.

“Why, after American women have contributed so much to our economy, do we act like it’s still 1955?” Clinton said.

The former secretary of state told supporters they have to get out and vote on Nov. 4 and elect the more than 100 women running for congressional seats.

“I can’t think of a better way to make Congress start working for the middle class than to elect every one of them,” Clinton said.

The election is most important for Democrats in the U.S. Senate, where polls show control could shift to Republicans.

“It was a big call to action of how important it is for Democrats to hold the United States Senate,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein said afterward.

Tickets for the luncheon ranged in price from $500 per person to $32,400 per couple and included a performance by singer-songwriter Carole King, who led the audience in singing her 1967 song,'' (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.''

Clinton was scheduled to appear on Monday night at a $32,400-per-person fundraiser in Los Angeles benefiting the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The event is hosted by several prominent players in the entertainment industry, including Dreamworks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, who backed Obama in the 2008 president election, and director Steven Spielberg, who endorsed Clinton six years ago.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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