Bernie Sanders' campaign enters 'persuasion' phase

Nicole Gaudiano | USA TODAY

Corrections and clarifications: An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to the University at Buffalo.

WASHINGTON — Iowa and New Hampshire voters, prepare to hear even more from Sen. Bernie Sanders.

The underdog candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, armed with more than $30 million, has hired a pollster and plans to begin running ads in the two states early next month.

After proving he can draw crowds in the thousands, Sanders is moving toward the “persuasion” phase of his candidacy. He’ll hold smaller events in the two early voting states, in addition to his mega-rallies, so he can take questions from undecided voters, according to Tad Devine, Sanders’ senior media strategist.

Vice President Biden’s decision to opt out of the 2016 campaign helps solidify Sanders’ position as the Democratic Party’s alternative to front-runner Hillary Clinton. But Devine said that doesn’t impact Sanders’ strategy.

“From the beginning, this campaign really has not been about opponents, it’s been about Bernie and his message,” Devine said. “We’re not going to deviate from that strategic course.”

It’s unclear how a Biden bid would have affected Sanders’ chances, but national polls suggest the vice president’s absence from the race could make Sanders’ already difficult path toward the nomination even more challenging. Four polls taken since the first Democratic presidential debate on Oct. 13 showed Clinton's lead over Sanders jumped from an average of 23.5 percentage points to an average of 30 when Biden was excluded as an option.

“Now she is the formidable front-runner again,” Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute in New Jersey, said of Clinton. “It doesn’t look like (Sanders) can make this up. Even if he pulls off a win in New Hampshire, the problem is he doesn’t have the blue-collar vote, he doesn’t have the Latino or African-American vote. When we get to Super Tuesday, those groups are going to dominate.”

James Campbell, a political science professor at the University at Buffalo, said Biden’s decision helps Clinton. He said the opposition Clinton faces from Sanders is a secondary concern compared to the significance of her performance Thursday testifying before the House committee on Benghazi, and the controversy over her use of a private email server while secretary of State.

“Most likely the only way she is not getting that nomination would be a self-destruction,” he said in a statement.

Devine disagreed, saying the path for Sanders is even clearer now because Biden cited priorities in his Wednesday announcement that are similar to Sanders’, such as the need for campaign finance reform and to end income inequality.

“Now we don’t have someone competing that directly with us on that message terrain,” Devine said.

Sanders has begun to show his lighter side, dancing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and joking about comedian Larry David’s portrayal of him on Saturday Night Live. That portrayal featured David bragging, in Sander’s characteristic shout, that he had only one clean pair of underwear, prompting Sanders to assure reporters in Iowa he has “an ample supply of underwear.”

Part of Sanders’ strategy is to begin speaking more substantively on issues, including what it means to be a democratic socialist, the term he uses to describe his politics. He also plans to offer more specifics in speeches about his economic plan, including his ideas for taxes and generating revenue. Another topic: how he would handle his role as commander-in-chief.

The campaign has continued to draw significant resources from small contributions, according to Devine. Between Sept. 28 and Oct. 15, it raised $6.7 million in contributions of less than $200. That has allowed the campaign to continue to hire staff, open field offices and conduct research to begin advertising. The campaign hired pollster Ben Tulchin, who previously worked for former Democratic National Committee chairman and former presidential candidate Howard Dean, Devine said.

“It shows that the debate was a hell of a good night,” Devine said of the “fundraising bonanza.” “But it also shows that we’re building a campaign structure that is going to allow us to compete for resources all the way through this election.”

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