In dash to November, campaigns pin hopes on turnout efforts
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Over pizza and cupcakes, Jose Nunez implored a crowd of University of Iowa students to pull out their smartphones and start sharing with online friends their personal reasons for backing Hillary Clinton for president.
Early voting in Iowa begins in late September, and the digital aide for the Clinton campaign said earnestly: “These stories are going to start making a difference.”
It’s a scene Clinton’s campaign is replicating in about a dozen of the most contested states as their aggressive voter turnout effort kicks into high gear for the sprint to Election Day, Nov. 8.
In Iowa alone, 25,000 volunteers are helping send real-time data on voters back to the campaign’s New York City headquarters, where dozens of analysts model the electorate.