Examining Trump vs Clinton's early vote strategies, she's got this.
Just a few weeks into early voting, it’s too soon to know which presidential campaign is winning the war for ballots cast in advance of Election Day. But one thing is obvious: For better or for worse, in the critical phase of the campaign where roughly a third of the vote was cast in 2012, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are following the same playbooks that got them this far.
Trump’s haphazard campaign, ignoring standard practice, relies largely on mining his boisterous, battleground state rallies to amass his early-vote totals. Clinton’s effort is more methodical and traditional, hinging on an extensive field organization to drive its advance voting strategy. As Trump allies see it, it’s a test of the real estate mogul’s magnetism versus Clinton’s technical mastery.
In Iowa, clipboard-toting, neon-clad Trump volunteers canvass the extended lines that often form hours ahead of his events. They offer priority seating to prospective voters who fill out absentee ballot requests. At a recent North Carolina rally, there was a reserved “mail-in voter seating section.” Trump allies in both states emphasize that the rally-centric efforts are augmented with traditional approaches as well. But there’s no question that the GOP nominee’s campaign is counting on the rallies — which it insists are filled with first-time voters — to serve as the fulcrum of its early voting strategy.
“I’ve had people enter that arena who weren’t completely on board or on the fence or just wanted to come there to see the show,” said Stuart Jolly, who ran Trump’s field program during the Republican primary. “When you see so many people rallying and listening to him personally, they leave ecstatic. They leave over the top and ready to do whatever they can do for him. It’s a cult of personality and the more you get the personality out, the better.”
Supporters view the rally-based plan as a risky but plausible approach that proved successful in the GOP primaries. But Jolly warned this approach has limitations too — Trump and running mate Mike Pence can only be in two places at once.
“His issue is that he can’t be everywhere,” Jolly said. “She can make 50 different commercials for 50 different states,” Jolly said. “He’s not going to have that ability being a two-man band show.”
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/1...#ixzz4M71k0yIF
Team Hillary stays winning, more people and a better ground game
