State Democratic Party Removes Bill Clinton’s Name From Fundraiser

Former President Bill Clinton delivers his speech at the the New Hampshire State Democratic Party 100 Club fund raising dinner late 18 February in Manchester, New Hampshire. (PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)

The New Hampshire Democratic Party has removed former President Bill Clinton’s name from a major fall fundraising dinner gala.

The party announced on Aug. 7 that they had renamed their annual fundraiser to “Eleanor Roosevelt Dinner,” following a vote on the decision by members of the committee.

The former name of the gala was the “Kennedy–Clinton Dinner.”

“We are proud to honor Eleanor Roosevelt, a woman revered around the world for her bold leadership and tireless efforts to create justice,” state party Chairman Ray Buckley said in a statement. “She dedicated her life to helping all hard-working Americans and all those who needed a champion.”

“Eleanor Roosevelt was an historic trailblazer whose compassion, bravery and intelligence drove her to speak out at a time when women were too often silenced and relegated to the sidelines of history.”

Buckley added that the new name is “particularly fitting” because of the party’s “steadfast commitment to electing Democratic women.”

Since 1930, the gala had been called the “Jefferson–Jackson Dinner” in honor of former presidents Andrew Jackson and Thomas Jefferson. The last year it carried that name was in 2016 when Hillary Clinton, then a presidential candidate, spoke at the event.

The following year, in 2017, Buckley announced to state party leaders that the event would now be called the “Kennedy–Clinton Dinner” honoring former presidents John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton.

“While Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson played instrumental roles in the founding of the national Democratic Party 200 years ago, the NHDP officers and so many others believed it was time to rename the dinner in honor of two more recent Democratic presidents,” Buckley wrote.

Democratic National Committee Vice Chair Grace Meng and presidential candidateJohn Delaney headlined the first and only “Kennedy–Clinton Dinner,” which was held at the Alpine Grove Banquet Hall in Hollis.