Clinton Campaign Puts Resources in AZ, GA

By Lorin McLain

Arizona appears to be in the crosshairs of Hillary Clinton’s election campaign as the Democratic presidential nominee continues to poll by larger margins over Donald Trump. The average of all major national polls compiled by Real Clear Politics puts her ahead in all battleground states, except for Missouri and Arizona. Arizona is virtually a tie when considering a three-point margin-of-error.

Arizona and Georgia are currently the red states Clinton campaign organizers are targeting to flip in November. Clinton is polling ahead in Georgia 43.8 percent to 42 percent, and narrowly trails Trump in the Grand Canyon state by .3 of a percent. The only battleground state clearly in favor of the billionaire GOP candidate is Missouri, where Trump leads 44.3 percent to 38 percent.

The “Washington Post” on Tuesday reported Clinton campaign organizers contacted party leaders in Arizona and Georgia this week about transferring money there to hire more organizers. The paper says the money, for now, is estimated to be “in the six figures,” and will be used specifically to hire staff. No television ads are mentioned in their strategy. The Trump campaign is yet to spend money on television in either state. In fact, “The Hill” reports Donald Trump hasn’t spent a dime yet on television advertising, while estimates of spending by the Hillary Clinton campaign is in the tens of millions of dollars.  “The Hill” says the NRA recently coughed up $3.2 million on TV ads for Trump.

CNN analysts say Clinton spending in Arizona and Georgia is a way to strengthen its hold on battleground states. If the Trump campaign is forced to fend off Democrat gains there, it absorbs money and other resources he could be putting elsewhere. Clinton organizers hope Trump’s extremely high un-favorability among Latino voters is one way to boost Latino turnout in Arizona next November.

Meanwhile, both campaigns are in damage control over new and lingering controversies. Clinton’s email troubles aren’t going away after conservative group Judicial Watch this week released a new set of online exchanges they say shows an inappropriate connection between senior State Department officials and people with ties to the Clinton family. Trump caught heat on Tuesday for insinuating at a rally that maybe gun owners could attack a president, or federal judges, if he loses in November.