With 54 days until the Iowa Caucus on Jan. 3, Gov. Bill Richardson is putting everything he has into Iowa and New Hampshire as he makes a final push in his underdog bid for the presidency.
Earlier this week, Richardson moved 10 staffers from Nevada to Iowa, weakening his organization in a state he once called critical. Richardson also moved some staffers from New Hampshire to Iowa, but replaced them with staffers from the campaign headquarters in Santa Fe. Overall, that increased the number of staffers in both Iowa and New Hampshire.
Then today, Campaign Manager Dave Contarino sent an e-mail to supporters announcing that the campaign plans to spend $1.2 million on advertising in Iowa and New Hampshire this month, which he wrote would match the totals spent by the better-funded campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
How is that possible? Contarino wrote that “there is only so much media to be bought in Iowa and New Hampshire, which is why we’re concentrating our energy there.”
Of course, the letter asks for more funding. The campaign has $950,000 for the ad buy but needs another $250,000 by Thanksgiving so “we can match Clinton and Obama ad-for-ad,” Contarino wrote.
“As this point, the only issue is money,” Contarino wrote. “We have the candidate. We have the message. We have the momentum. And with your help, we can have the nomination.”
The date of the New Hampshire primary hasn’t been set, but it will likely be held shortly after the Iowa Caucus.
Richardson’s Real Clear Politics average of recent polls in Iowa remains at 7.8 percent. His average of recent polls in New Hampshire is 6.8 percent. But that doesn’t mean he has no shot at the nomination. Anything can happen in Iowa.
Richardson has said he has to place third or better there. According to the Associated Press, “A senior Iowa Democrat who backs (John) Edwards is telling important people around the state that (Richardson) will beat one of the top three Democrats on Jan. 3 — Clinton, Obama or Edwards — and drive that person from the race. A few others say the spoiler role could go to Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware.
The Associated Press writer also had this to say about Richardson:
“You’re filling rooms in Iowa and finding ways to remind voters that you have the best résumé in the race (New Mexico governor and former diplomat, congressman and Cabinet member),” he wrote. “Your rambling stump speech and quirky sense of humor fuel a much-deserved reputation for being undisciplined, but you’re connecting with voters on a level that the more polished rivals cannot.”
This has been Richardson’s strategy all along. It’s not likely that he’ll win the nomination, but it’s also too early to count him out.
With 54 days until the Iowa Caucus on Jan. 3, Gov. Bill Richardson is putting everything he has into