Clinton campaign preparing for post-election, even if Trump refuses to concede

Hillary Clinton's campaign is increasingly preparing for the possibility that Donald Trump may never concede the presidential election should she win, a development that could enormously complicate the crucial early weeks of her preparations to take office.

Aiming to undermine any argument the Republican nominee may make about a "rigged" election, she hopes to roll up a large electoral vote margin in next month's election. That could repudiate the New York billionaire's message and project a governing mandate after the bitter, divisive presidential race.

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"Donald is still going to whine if he loses. But if the mandate is clear, I don't think many people will follow him," Clinton's running mate,Virginia SenatorTimKaine, said in an interview Thursday with CNN'sNew Day.

Kaine expects 'a lot of Republican votes'

The vice-presidential candidate told The Associated Press on Saturday that he and Clinton havenot spoken specifically about thescenarioof Trump refusing to concedethe electionbut that they have talked in general about how to heal the nationif they should win.

He said tackling economic anxieties, finding common policy ground with Republicans and perhaps bringing them into the administration would be elements of unity, though he added that he and Clinton did not discuss cabinet positions.

"We have not run this campaign as a campaign against the GOP with the big broad brush we've run it against Donald Trump,"Kainesaid.

He predicted: "We're going to get a lot of Republican votes and that will also be part of, right out of the gate, the way to bring folks back together."

Eye on Republican leaders

Clinton's team is also keeping a close eye on statements by national Republican leaders, predicting they could play an important role in how Trump's accusations of electoral fraud might be perceived. That's according to several Clinton campaign aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss internal strategy.

Campaign officials stress they are not taking the outcome of the election for granted. But Clinton and her team have begun thinking about how to position their candidate during the post-election period. Long one of the country's most polarizing political figures, Clinton has begun telling audiences she'll need their help in healing the country.

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"I've got to figure out how we heal these divides," she said in a Friday interview with a Tampa radio station WBTP. "We've got to get together. Maybe that's a role that is meant to be for my presidency if I'm so fortunate to be there."

A refusal by Trump to accept the election results would not only upend a basic tenet of American democracy, but also force Clinton to create a new playbook for handling the transfer of power. And a narrow victory would make it more difficult for her to claim substantial political capital at the start of her administration.