Fledgling campaigns tend to focus on the most high profile primary states—Iowa and New Hampshire—as a source of both grassroots power and media exposure. They’re good places to build a profile; but what if your candidate already has a huge profile, and the campaign experience to match?
You expand, of course.
Vice President Joe Biden’s “Draft Biden” PAC is doing just that. Biden has been teasing the idea of a presidential run for some time now, and a senior advisor to the PAC confirmed to the media today that the outfit is staffing up its operation in the 11 states that are set to host their primary elections on “Super Tuesday.”
“We’re very pleased with the organizing we’re doing in the early states. The goal of Draft Biden has always been to build out the infrastructure Vice President Joe Biden will need if he decides to enter the race,” said Josh Alcorn, a former Beau Biden adviser. News of the was first reported by Reuters. “We’re looking beyond the early states, to Super Tuesday and the contests in March, and looking forward to expanding our team in the coming weeks. When he’s ready, we’ll be ready.”
They’re recruiting—and they’re paying, which means this goes beyond the oft-touted “grassroots operation.” The PAC didn’t open up about how many staffers it plans to hire, or how much money it has raised so far, but Alcorn said that he hopes to raise $3 million before Biden declares.
More via Reuters:
Whatever the number, adding paid staffers in the 11 states suggests a growing confidence within Draft Biden that Biden will mount a challenge to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, the front runners for the Democratic presidential nomination.The expansion means Biden would have a far broader and more sophisticated infrastructure than previously known should he decide to enter the race.Alcorn said Draft Biden is also adding paid staff in Florida, where the primary is held two weeks after Super Tuesday.Until recently, the Super PAC had concentrated on establishing operations in the four earliest primary states – Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. It has about a dozen employees in those states.
Legally, the PAC can’t coordinate with any official campaign infrastructure, so they don’t know when or if Biden will announce, but Alcorn says that “they have to be as prepared” should it happen.
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have a huge edge on any undeclared candidates; but with Biden’s already-proven abilities to successfully campaign, he could prove a formidable foe.
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