Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., shakes supporter hands at a rally Monday, Oct. 22, 2007 in Fresno, Calif. Clinton spoke to students at Fresno High School about her future plans if elected president in 2008. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)10-22) 16:20 PDT Fresno, Calif. (AP) --
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton touched down for the first time in California's farm belt Monday, seeking to sway voters and small town officials in the state's conservative interior pocket to her side.
Fresh from a fundraiser Sunday at the Los Angeles home of "When Harry Met Sally" director Rob Reiner, Clinton didn't arrive seeking cash.
Rather, the Democrats' presidential front-runner used the campaign stop to speak to hundreds of students, grandmothers and teachers outside Fresno High School about her proposals to pass immigration reforms and boost the farming economy.
"Everywhere I go, people feel like they are invisible to their government," Clinton said, speaking on a riser to the crowd waving signs before the school's main stone entrance. "None of these people are invisible to me and they will not be invisible to the next president of the United States."
Clinton, D-NY, has racked up endorsements from more than 50 San Joaquin Valley party leaders, including Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers, and Assemblyman Juan Arambula, D-Fresno, her campaign announced Monday.
But Democratic presidential contenders have historically failed to attract much money or build a significant voting bloc in the region.
According to the Federal Election Commission, Clinton has raised $13,270,732 in California for her campaign, more than any other candidate has received in in-state contributions.
Just $11,130 of that came from the Fresno area, as opposed to the nearly $2.8 million Clinton collected in Los Angeles.
Her top rival, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, collected less than $7,000 in political contributions from the Fresno area, according to federal fundraising records. Former North Carolina senator John Edwards raised only about $24,400 there.
Still with February's presidential primary looming, swing voters in the valley and in the Inland Empire have more pull, political analysts said.
"Fresno has never been a place where you raise Democratic money," said Chris Lehane, a Clinton supporter who runs a Democratic consulting business in San Francisco. "But it's smart to have Hillary's feet on the ground there because you do well with women, you do well with Latinos, you focus on traditional swing areas like the valley and you'll do well in the state."
Clinton was playing to that Monday, when she emphasized her support for a bill that would allow the children of undocumented immigrants to attend college.
"The most important thing she could do is to get more help for children and fix immigration," said Esteban Espinoza, 17, a Fresno High School student whose class attended the rally. "They need to let people's parents stay here even if they don't have papers."
Clinton was scheduled to attend private receptions in the San Francisco Bay area and Seattle, Wash., later Monday, and planned to return to the valley in the coming months, said campaign spokesman Luis Vizcaino.
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