Story highlights Clinton's campaign has turned to a host of celebrities, athletes and elected officials to be in early states when the candidate can't be there

The point of the surrogate operation, aides say, is to get the campaign's message in the news and allow people with credibility in certain communities to convey the campaign's message directly to voters

North Charleston, South Carolina (CNN) Rep. Bennie Thompson came armed with gifts -- and a message.

The congressman from the Mississippi delta sauntered into four barber shops on Sunday to stump for Hillary Clinton, offering prospective voters campaign signage, a photo of Clinton standing next to a younger Barack Obama in Unity, New Hampshire, and a warning for what happens if Clinton doesn't win the Democratic nomination.

"They don't want Mexicans, they don't want Muslims," the African-American Democratic congressman said about Republicans. "You know who is next, right?"

The message was received loud and clear by the black barber and his customer in North Charleston who later told CNN that they plan to vote for Clinton. And it was a rebuke to Republicans that Clinton couldn't credibly deliver -- and would be criticized for saying.

With voters going to the polls in just weeks, Clinton's campaign has turned to surrogates like Thompson and a host of celebrities, athletes and elected officials to be in early states when the candidate can't be there. They stump for her in Iowa and New Hampshire, two critical early voting states, and attend fundraisers for her across the country.

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