DENVER – Colorado can expect additional visits in the coming weeks from Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, as the campaign kicks off a Colorado-specific effort ahead of the March 1 caucus.
Top Sanders campaign strategists held a media call on Thursday to announce the launch, which comes about three months after Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton’s campaign ramped up efforts in the state.
The Sanders campaign will open its first field office on Dec. 16, when a more official Colorado campaign launch is expected. The office will be in Edgewater, an enclave of Denver.
The campaign says it hopes to rely on grass-roots support to defeat Clinton in Colorado, which remains an uphill battle for the self-described “democratic socialist.” There already exists 38 Sanders groups in Colorado that are independently organizing for the candidate.
“It’s that message that is really at the heart of the success of his campaign,” said Sanders senior strategist Tad Devine. “It’s a very powerful message. It’s centered on a belief that America today has a rigged economy that sends almost all the new wealth to the top 1 percent.”
Clinton has more mainstream support from existing establishment Democrats who are more accustomed to the caucus process, while Sanders will need to woo delegates to his side.
Sanders would benefit from attracting new voters, which is also a difficult challenge, as those voters would need to join the Democratic Party to vote for him during caucus time. New voters tend to lean unaffiliated in Colorado.
At caucus meetings, party members stump for candidates, and then they elect delegates to select candidates at nominating conventions.
Clinton’s campaign has been on the ground in Colorado since early September. She already has organized several leadership and caucus organizing meetings and rallies, including one in Denver and another in Boulder, both on the same day last month.
Sanders has made two Colorado campaign appearances so far, including a rally at the University of Denver in June and another rally in Boulder in October. Both those events drew large crowds.
Sanders Campaign Manager Jeff Weaver downplayed the later start his campaign is getting off to in Colorado, pointing to the grass-roots movement behind the campaign.
“Not only in Colorado, but all across this country, there are tens and tens and tens of thousands of people ... that are self-organized organizations,” Weaver said. “When we come to a place like Colorado with paid staff, there’s already this huge infrastructure.”
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