It turns out Clinton's much-hailed
50-state strategy may be part of an effort to build an army of volunteers for the battlegrounds.
Emily Schultheis reports that in six to 12 months the campaign plans to refocus staffers and volunteers from solid Clinton country to the land of the undecided voter.
Indeed, though the campaign is stressing its work toward a robust nationwide grassroots network—far more extensive than her outreach efforts in 2008—that 50-state network will ultimately benefit Clinton in the same small playing field of swing states that propelled Obama to victory in 2008 and 2012.
And not for nothing. With an increasingly polarized electorate, the number of states that will prove decisive to Clinton on Election Night 2016 could total as few as seven and certainly no more than 12.
While the team might not talk about a battleground approach now, its tactics will soon reflect that strategy.
Right now, Clinton has paid staffers in every state, but toward the end of May, local volunteers will reportedly assume their duties in some places. The broad infrastructure of volunteers will eventually be employed to buttress Clinton's efforts in key primary and the general election states. It appears to be modeled on Obama's electoral strategies.
In 2012, Obama's reelection campaign had just 10 "battleground" states with a full-fledged staff: Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Nevada, and Colorado. ... That didn't mean that other states went unnoticed, especially with organizers for Organizing for America stationed across the country—but they didn't have the same kind of fully staffed operations that the swing states did.
In 2016, some forecasters are already predicting
a narrower field of contested states which include: Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, Ohio, Virginia, Florida, and New Hampshire.