To establish dozens of field offices in some of the nation’s most Republican-leaning counties situated in crucial swing states, President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is making use of its fundraising power.
In seven battleground states, the campaign employed over 400 staff members and created over 150 offices. By the end of the month, the campaign told Axios, they plan to have 200 offices and 500 employees.
According to CNN, the campaign has already established a large number of field offices, including 44 in Wisconsin, 24 in Pennsylvania, and 30 in Michigan.
Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania—known as the “blue wall” because of their long history of supporting Democrats—will see a large portion of the election campaigning. Although Biden won all three states four years prior, former President Trump flipped them to win the White House in 2016. The team is conscious that, in order to win a second term, Biden must hang onto his gains in these states.
In rural areas where Trump prevailed in 2020, Biden’s campaign plan aims to reduce Republican margins and maintain rural supporters’ enthusiasm before the election. For instance, Biden now holds 46 offices in 42 of Wisconsin’s counties, including 23 that Trump won by a double digit margin in 2020. In an attempt to narrow Biden’s margin of loss against Trump in 2020, they just established a field office in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Biden lost to Trump there by 16 points.
In the previous cycle, Biden’s and Trump’s strategies for increasing voter turnout in 2020 were dissimilar; Biden adopted COVID-19 safety measures, while Trump conducted in-person campaigns. The Democrats are ready to change the course of events this year. The extensive organization and new physical offices contrast with Biden’s 2020 virtual and drive-in rallies.
Biden underlined the need for the ground game when he spoke to volunteers in Nevada last month, saying, “It is all about engaging and making the argument face-to-face with people.”
Federal election records show that Biden’s campaign had $88.5 million in war chests as of the beginning of April, compared to $45.1 million for Trump’s. Although Trump’s team has a large number of employees on the ground, the campaign claimed to have paid employees in every state where there was a contest.
Karoline Leavitt, national press sec. for the Trump campaign, told Axios that “our aggressive and experienced operation is centered on turning out voters and underscoring the difference between Biden’s failures and President Trump’s record of accomplishment.”
