Hillary Clinton "is widely expected to lose" NC "but that isn't stopping her campaign from spending millions of dollars on advertising and holding rallies in dozens of communities throughout the state." Clinton "wants to avoid the kind of blowout loss" to Barack Obama she suffered in SC. "She is trying to demonstrate the breadth of her support to Democratic elected officials and other superdeleates."
Many observers expected the Clinton camp to concede NC and pour its limited resources into tightly contested IN. The Clinton camp opened roughly 20 offices around" NC "and it expanding its staff of more than 50 paid employees."
NC "has a large population of the economically hard-hit rural white voters among whom" she's fares well with. Clinton NC dir. Ace Smith said the camp "would be happy if it could narrow the gap to single digits." Smith: "There's no question that this is an uphill battle; winning here would be the upset of the century" (Chozick, Wall Street Journal, 4/25).
NC's Dem primary "is a mirror of recent events" in PA. Smith "said he plans a full-court offensive" in NC for Clinton. The Obama camp said its candidate will be back in NC soon. "The campaign's media blitz continues." So far it spent $2M on TV ads in NC since 3/28. "Smith said Clinton won't come close to matching Obama's TV as budget."
The "college exam schedules could affect one of Obama's core constituencies -- students. The primary election falls in the middle of exams. Obama field workers are trying to combat that, encouraging students to cast their ballot during the early voting period" (Worthington, Fayetteville Observer Times, 4/25).
Could You Would You On A Plane, On A Boat Or In The Rain?
Clinton and Obama "courted the military vote" in NC 4/24. "Clinton campaigned here with eight retired military officers," including ex-Joint Chiefs of Staff chair/NCan/Gen. Hugh Shelton. Speaking at Methodist Univ., "Clinton gave a 30-minute speech focused on military and economic issues." Among "her specific proposals was to vastly improve cooperation between the Defense Department and the Veterans Administration."
"Clinton also repeated her call for a debate" in NC. Clinton: "Look, I'm so sleep deprived, it doesn't matter. Anytime, anywhere. I'll show up." The crowd "laughed and cheered."
The Obama camp "also increased its outreach toward military voters." Vietnam vet/Medal of Honor winner Paul Bucha campaigned in Eastern NC on behalf of Obama "and started what the campaign billed as 'Veterans for Obama'" (Romoser, Winston-Salem Journal, 4/25).
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