McAuliffe: 'Kentucky is critical' for Clinton campaign

The Hillary Clinton campaign is gearing up for a fight that will last until June 3, according to campaign Chairman Terry McAuliffe. McAuliffe spoke to reporters in Kentucky today about the road ahead for Clinton and insisted the campaign was taking Kentucky's May 20 primary "very seriously."

McAuliffe said the Clinton camp's argument that Clinton deserved the nomination would be based in part on the New York Senator's lead in the popular vote - a lead she does not currently hold. With Clinton showing a 34 point lead over Senator Barack Obama in Kentucky in recent polls, McAuliffe said turnout in the Commonwealth could provide his candidate with a boost back into the popular vote lead.

"Kentucky is critical for us. We not only have to have a very big win in Kentucky to feel good about where we are, but good vote turnout. What is important to the process is a good turnout in West Virginia and a good turnout in Kentucky." said McAuliffe. "I do believe by the end of this process we will have moved ahead in the popular vote."

If and when that touchstone is reached, McAuliffe says the Clinton campaign will ask superdelegates "Who is it that can win the general election?"

McAuliffe says Clinton's ammunition for winning that argument will be rooted in her Democratic primary success in "big core states the Democrats have to win," pointing to Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvannia, and Florida.

The campaign chairman also bemoaned scheduling that will put Senator Obama in Oregon during Friday's Kentucky Democratic Party fundraising dinner in Louisville - where Clinton is set to appear - and noted that Obama had yet to come to Kentucky during his Presidential bid. McAuliffe argued this would be negative for a general election bid.

"In Kentucky, you have not seen Senator Obama once. We have had entire the Clinton family down there," said McAuliffe. "If you are not going to pay attention to these states in primaries, you are not going to pay attention to them in the general election."

"We cannot be laying off states that we have won. West Virginia, like Kentucky, we won in 1992 and 1996. We lost it in 2000 and 2004," said McAuliffe. "But you can't win them if you don't show up and we are showing up in Kentucky."

On the heels of the news that Senator Clinton loaned her own campaign over $6 million of her own funds, McAuliffe sounded confident that the campaign would have the resources to carry on.

"We did seven figures online since the polls closed in Indiana," said McAuliffe.

He also noted he was personally participating in efforts to keep money rolling in to Clinton's coffers.

"President Clinton and I will be on a call this afternoon with thousands of folks around the country...to tell them we have 3.5 weeks left in campaign we need your help," said McAuliffe. "We are going to have the resources to do everything we need to do in this upcoming contests."