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Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus says he hopes Hillary Clinton is the Democratic Party鈥檚 presidential candidate in 2016 but admits his party鈥檚 operations will need to be 鈥渁bout perfect鈥� to beat her.

Republican gains in Tuesday鈥檚 election in the Senate, House, and governor鈥檚 races showed 鈥渢he acceptance of conservative Republican leadership across the board,鈥� Mr. Priebus argued.聽

Buoyed by the results, Priebus told a Monitor-hosted breakfast for reporters that he was 鈥渓eaning to do it again鈥� and run for a third term as party chair. He was first elected in 2011 and re-elected in 2013.

Priebus also appeared to toughen his party鈥檚 stance on comprehensive immigration reform.

He called the president鈥檚 pledge to take executive action on immigration by year鈥檚 end without waiting for Congress to act 鈥渁 nuclear threat to reject the basis of the separation power doctrine.鈥� The chairman said Republicans 鈥渨ill have to convene about whatever possible options we have to stop it, whether it be the courts, whether it will be legislation.鈥澛�

After the 2012 election, Priebus commissioned a study on why the party failed to win the White House. The 鈥淕rowth and Opportunity Project鈥� called for the party to 鈥渆mbrace and champion comprehensive immigration reform.鈥� But Priebus said the president鈥檚 promise to act on his own has 鈥渃reated a situation that I think may have not existed before鈥� and has 鈥済alvanized the country in a place where I don鈥檛 believe most people are interested in comprehensive immigration reform unless they are convinced that the border is secure.鈥�

Republicans hope to run against Clinton given what Priebus said was her lackluster performance helping candidates in 2014.

鈥淚 sure as heck hope we鈥檙e running against Hillary Clinton,鈥� he said. 鈥溾�榃hat you just saw on Tuesday night is about as flat of a performance that you could have ever seen from the Democratic Party鈥檚 brightest star.鈥� For example, both Bill and Hillary Clinton campaigned in their home state of Arkansas for Sen. Mark Pryor, who was defeated by Rep. Tom Cotton.

A Clinton candidacy would also energize Republican voters.聽

Priebus was candid about the challenges his party would face in 2016 taking the White House given the larger voter turnout in presidential elections. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got a long way to go to be ready for 2016,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got to be about perfect as a national party to win a national cultural vote in this country. I think the Democrats can be good and win, but we have to be great.鈥�

To that end, Priebus said he plans to have a 鈥渇ull blown field operation鈥� up and running by March 2015 in the key states of Florida, Ohio, and Virginia. For the election just past, the GOP made a two-year, $100 million investment in identifying and reaching out to potential Republican voters. In the coming presidential election, Priebus said the data effort would need to be 鈥渢hree times bigger than we were in 2014. I think it is going to take a massive amount of money and a huge paid program in the battleground states starting immediately.鈥�