Clinton Campaign Signals It Wants To Play In Georgia Race

Rebecca DeHart got an exciting phone call this week from the Hillary Clinton campaign.

“The Clinton campaign called me Monday night to confirm that they were going to be investing in Georgia,” said DeHart, the executive director of the state’s Democratic Party.

DeHart said she’d been making the point for days to the campaign that Clinton can beat Donald Trump in Georgia where Republicans hold all offices elected statewide.

Recent polls show Clinton about four points ahead of Donald Trump in Georgia.

“What I see is actually a state that is ripe for the investment that will actually show a return on the investment for her,” said DeHart, “we are thrilled about their interest in the state, we really look forward to working with them over the next 90 some days.”

DeHart said she can’t reveal how much money will come in, or what it will be used for.

NBC reports the money will be used to hire campaign organizers. Georgia Democrats currently have eight regional field directors, and 15 field organizers, with four more to be hired this week.

Atlanta’s Democratic Mayor Kasim Reed said Monday that a Georgia win for Clinton would devastate Trump’s chances of winning in November.

“If I were in Secretary Clinton’s shoes and there was an opportunity for me to win a state that would make it impossible for my opponent to win, and I had a billion dollars, $8-12 million would seem to me to be a logical investment,” said Reed. He also said $15 million would be a good investment from the Clinton campaign.

Whatever the amount, Trump’s Georgia campaign director Brandon Phillips said the investment won’t pay off in the Republican leaning state.

“Sending money to the Democrat Party of Georgia to hire some staffers is about the only jobs Hillary will be creating in Georgia,” said Phillips. “Georgia will not be in play in November and our campaign is building out an operation to make sure it’s not even close.”

William Boone, a political scientist at Clark Atlanta University, said last week a Clinton win in Georgia would likely mean a landslide victory for Democrats nationally, and spending money here could be part of a broader strategy to distract the Trump campaign’s attention from other states.

“To at least give the appearance that they are here in Georgia and other states like Georgia to force the Republicans to fight a wider campaign and to place resources where they wouldn’t ordinarily,” Boone said.

There have been no reports of the Trump campaign directing funding to Georgia’s Republican Party.