Joe Biden Reportedly Hasn’t Campaigned In A Super Tuesday State In Over A Month, Save For Fundraising
A Wednesday report from The New York Times claims that former Vice President Joe Biden‘s campaign has not been active in a Super Tuesday state in over a month, with the exception of fundraising. The news comes ahead of the South Carolina primary, a state that former President Barack Obama‘s campaign manager, Jim Messina, said Biden must win to stay in the race.
The lack of Super Tuesday campaigning is something that has been noted by party leaders in half a dozen of the critical states. According to these leaders, this lack of presence stems from the same problems that have dragged Biden’s campaign down in the early states: late campaigning, subpar organization, and limited communication with local Democrats.
Gilberto Hinojosa, the Democratic Party chairman in Texas, echoed other party leaders and said that the campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Michael Bloomberg possess on-the-ground operations that are significantly larger than Biden’s.
“Bernie has a ground game because he naturally has a ground game; his whole campaign is a grass-roots campaign. Bloomberg has funded a ground game. Elizabeth Warren has a ground game because she started organizing in Texas a long time ago.”
Michael John Gray, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Arkansas, said he once believed that The Natural State was going to go to Biden by default.
“He hasn’t been here. Of all the campaigns, the least organized in Arkansas is Biden,” he said.
? NEW SUPER TUESDAY AD @JoeBiden is launching a new ad featuring @BarackObama, that will air in key Super Tuesday states.
The ad will air in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.#WeKnowJoe #Biden2020 #BidenBounceback pic.twitter.com/s8SOTreygX
— Chris D. Jackson (@ChrisDJackson) February 26, 2020
According to The New York Times, the Biden campaign is being brought down by a lack of funding, noting that he entered February with just over $7 million — half as much money as Sanders had. The publication notes that this disadvantage can be seen in his campaign’s staffing: in California, Biden has just one office, compared to Sanders’ 23 and Bloomberg’s 24.
Biden also hasn’t been a prominent presence on the airwaves in the Super Tuesday states.
“It’s to the point where you can ask a 14-year-old who’s running for president, they’re going to say ‘Bloomberg,'” said Michael John Gray, Arkansas Democratic chairman.
Regardless, Biden supporter Hilda L. Solis, who was labor secretary during the Obama administration, claims that the 77-year-old politician’s widespread name recognition is one advantage he has over other candidates.
In what could bode well for Biden, Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, the top-ranking African American in the House, endorsed him earlier this week. But while Biden is still favored to win the upcoming South Carolina primary on Saturday, Sanders and billionaire Tom Steyer have reportedly been catching up to him in recent polls.
