Bullit Marquez / AP
Boxer Manny Pacquiao waves to the crowd upon arrival with his family, including his wife, Jinkee, and youngest son, Israel, on Wednesday, May 13, 2015, at Ninoy Aquino International Airport at suburban Pasay city south of Manila, Philippines.
Friday, Oct. 2, 2015 | 11:02 a.m.
Many PACs have pledged their support for Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential bid. But the former secretary of state is reportedly interested in help from another kind of PAC: MannyPAC.
It’s not every day that a presidential candidate seeks the support of boxing superstar and Philippine senator Manny Pacquiao. But Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, reportedly spoke with Clinton at a dinner function a year ago, where she expressed interest in a helping hand from Pacquiao.
“She said, ‘Bob, I don’t know if I’m gonna run for president, but if I do, you gotta get Manny Pacquiao to come over and help me,’” Arum told the Philippine news outlet ABS CBN News last fall.
Clinton’s campaign has already started targeted outreach to the Filipino supporters in the state, including a Pinay-style potluck dinner hosted by Hillary for Nevada in Las Vegas last month.
“We support Hillary Clinton because she is for comprehensive immigration reform,” longtime Asian-American community leader Kate Torres-Recto told the Asian Journal.
“There is a groundswell of support for her in the Filipino community in Las Vegas because she is the only candidate who has reached out to us, and she is the only one with a clear plan to reunite families and prevent our homes from being broken up.”
An endorsement from Pacquiao could be a big boost for Clinton with Filipinos in Nevada. An estimated 114,939 Filipino-Americans live in Clark County alone.
Should Pacquiao endorse Clinton, it wouldn’t be his first public declaration of support of a high-profile Democrat in a U.S. election. The boxing star endorsed Sen. Harry Reid in his re-election bid in 2010.
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