[ad_1]
CHARLESTON, S.C. – When Bernie Sanders went on stage Sunday night in South Carolina, the situation was different.
The senator's staff generally struggled to keep him on his busy schedule, but it was his only public event of the day. The independent and self-proclaimed Vermont Socialist Democrat followed the advice of his associates, canceling events and appearances to return home and let his hoarse voice rest. It would be off the track, but only for a day.
"I've made too many speeches lately," Sanders told NBC News on Saturday, with a bright smile, after his campaign canceled the events. "I forget that microphones work pretty well."
The brief interruption was a sign of the physical balance of a presidential campaign, but it also reflected the heightened intensity of his campaign as it entered a new phase.
Now, the big gatherings are back. Last Monday, in anticipation of the first democratic presidential debate, more than 10,000 people gathered in a park to gather in the evening in Denver, capital of the competitive state of Super Tuesday, Colorado. The campaign has rarely organized rallies of this magnitude during the summer months, preferring smaller and more personal events targeting specific audiences or topics.
There was a wave of hiring – and a reshuffling of the staff – in the early states. Sanders' director in New Hampshire moved to Massachusetts and new campaigners were appointed to lead operations in Maine and New Hampshire.
Larger and more concentrated
There is also a resurgence of new employees in the field. About 100 staff members will participate in the Iowa campaign in the coming weeks, and more than 400 people will participate in the campaign, advisers said.
The increase in staff complements a change in orientation. The campaign will involve the first four caucuses and key states, as well as California, which has a large number of delegates, said a senior advisor. But that will probably cost the candidate forums, with many candidates giving fast speeches, outside of these key states, adds another assistant.
Campaigners also said the talks were well underway to expand radio and television advertising in state media beyond the digital space.
The changes coincide with what political actors see as a key marker of presidential electoral politics. Labor Day, the unofficial start of the fall season, marks the beginning of the tuning of many undecided and undecided voters after the end of the summer holidays, the return of schools and the return of Americans to the usual routine. according to political observers and agents.
For Sanders, whose presidential campaign four years ago had challenged Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, the landscape at this key point is very different, just as the resources at its disposal.
At this point in the year 2015, Sanders had about 40 employees, according to Jeff Weaver, who led his 2016 campaign and is one of the leading advisers of his current operation. Three rounds of debate have taken place so far in this cycle, but the first debate of a previous candidate, still largely unknown, took place only in mid-October.
In this race, the campaign had a full-time air charter service only after the Iowa caucuses. This time, the Sanders team is taking advantage of this service to perform fewer commercial flights.
"As the campaign intensifies, it becomes logistically impossible to go anywhere we need to go without one," Weaver told NBC News.
Aim to expand the base
Despite the additional resources, Sanders faces similar hurdles in his efforts to expand his base beyond his strong and active supporters group.
"He has been unable for the moment to stand in the presidential election to diversify his support beyond the demographic data of his populist progressive base," said Joe Trippi, a long-time Democratic strategist who led the presidential campaign. from Howard Dean in 2004.
Sanders' animation in 2016 was thwarted after losing in more diverse competitions in South Carolina and Nevada.
"If I was in-house with them, it's something that would be of great concern to me in this area because many other candidates have the ability to do it," said Trippi.
Trippi acknowledged the campaign's efforts to solve the problem by focusing on raising awareness among minority voters, and campaign staff said they thought Sanders was making progress. The election campaign – and sometimes even the candidate himself – regularly insists that the strategy work, including a pre-debate memo that showed Sanders was leading the country with Latino voters in the primary primary pack.
The note included recent polls from CNN and Univision showing Sanders about even with former vice president Joe Biden, with support from Hispanic voters. Among African Americans, Sanders is behind Biden, but he is doing well with younger black voters, with a poll showing him running with Senator Kamala Harris of California to support young black women.
The efforts of the campaign also appear in its calendar. Nevada and South Carolina were the first two states in which Sanders campaigned after the September Democratic debate.
In Las Vegas, Sanders led an invitation-only public meeting devoted to "Latinx issues". In recent weeks, he has organized thematic events for unionized workers, climate change and health insurance for all.
Despite the fact that he had to cancel his appearances in several South Carolina events to rest his hoarse voice, Sanders should already return to the South next weekend to attend events in three historically black colleges – another post-Labor Day change.
As students begin the fall semester, Sanders is taking advantage of the high concentration of youth on college and university campuses, launching campus visits this month to a demographic group on which the campaign builds. to succeed.
Sending to NBC News at a Labor Day parade, Sanders acknowledged an increase in the intensity of this race, but he thinks he has one. decisive advantage.
"We have a lot of basic energy. We have a lot of volunteers, "he told a group of volunteers who accompanied him to Milford, New Hampshire. "What really matters is voter turnout, what matters is the kind of enthusiasm and energy you have, and I feel pretty good about it." . "
[ad_2]
Source link