November 23, 2024
CAMPAIGN 2008

Campaigns push phone calls to get voters to caucuses

Campaign staff and volunteers for Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are giving one last push in Maine leading up to their visits today and the caucuses Sunday.

“Campaign-wise right now we’re really focused on phone calls, making sure everyone knows where their caucus location is [and] what the hours are,” Reid Cherlin, Obama’s communications director for Maine, said Friday. “We have been identifying our supporters, and now we just need to make sure they get out and caucus.”

“We feel good,” Kathleen Strand of Clinton’s campaign said Friday. “We’re not taking anything for granted, and that’s why we’re working as hard as we are.”

Both camps said they have strong grassroots efforts throughout the state that include about 20 staff members each and hundreds of volunteers.

“We are in every corner of the state. We’ve got organizers all over,” Cherlin said. “Their job is to support our volunteer network. We’ve got active volunteers in every town.”

Neither Strand nor Cherlin could provide exact dollar amounts for the candidates’ campaigns in Maine, but they confirmed that both have a presence on TV, radio, the Internet and over the telephone.

“We have done four TV ads in the state,” Cherlin said. He wouldn’t comment on the number of times the advertisements have run or what time slots had been purchased, but he did say they were “significant buys.”

Clinton is running two TV ads in Maine.

“They are both focused on the economy and helping families who are struggling to pay their bills and make ends meet,” Strand said.

Both candidates continue to use the phone to their advantage, making calls throughout the state to ensure that people get out and vote in Sunday’s caucuses.

There was some telephone confusion when Democratic voters in Washington state received recorded messages from Obama’s campaign telling them to caucus for Obama on Sunday. Washington state’s caucus is on Saturday.

The Obama campaign said Friday that the calls, which began on Thursday, should have been made in Maine.

“The problem has been resolved, and those voters are being called back with the correct information,” said Obama spokeswoman Amy Brundage.

Obama was in Washington state Friday, appearing with Gov. Chris Gregoire at a major campaign rally at Seattle’s Key Arena. Clinton also was in the state, making appearances in Tacoma and Spokane to follow up on her rally in Seattle Thursday night.

Both candidates will be in Maine today.

In addition to television, radio and the telephone, both campaigns are using the Internet to spread their message and organize volunteers and voters.

“We find that person-to-person interaction is the most valuable interaction that we can have,” Cherlin said. On the other hand, providing people with online information on how to host events and raise campaign dollars has been helpful, he added.

“The most effective message that someone is going to get is from someone that they know,” Cherlin said.

Clinton’s campaign also was working hard to spread the senator’s message to Mainers.

“We’re going to continue to work hard and we’re not going to take anything for granted,” Strand said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

adolloff@bangordailynews.net

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