Democratic presidential candidates are building up their campaigns’ presence in Michigan with less than a month left before residents cast their vote in the primary election.

Winning Michigan back after the state narrowly flipped for President Donald Trump in 2016 is essential to Democrats’ 2020 general election strategy. Michiganders are already voting due to new absentee ballot laws, but because the state’s March 10 primary is scheduled a week after Super Tuesday, when the most delegates are up for grabs on a single day, Democratic candidates have been more focused on visiting other parts of the country.

Campaigns are building up their volunteer networks and dispatching more staff to Michigan in lieu of visits from the candidates themselves. Several campaigns said they are focused on informing voters about automatic registration and other changes that will make it easier to cast a ballot.

The Michigan Democratic Party spent the last year building a grassroots army in all of the state’s 83 counties. MDP Chair Lavora Barnes said Democrats are spreading the word about Trump’s “broken promises” in their effort to "turn every corner of Michigan blue.”

“Any candidate hoping to win Michigan will have to speak to the diverse interests represented in communities across the state," Barnes said.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said nearly all of the Democrats running for president have reached out to her for advice on how to win Michigan. Whitmer recommended they come visit voters in the state early and often.

Here’s a look at what the leading Democratic campaigns are doing across Michigan.

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg speaks during a democratic presidential candidate forum at the NAACP National Convention at Cobo Center in Detroit Wednesday, July 24 2019.Jacob Hamilton/MLive.com

Pete Buttigieg

Buttigieg’s campaign built volunteer networks in Michigan’s 14 congressional districts but has yet to dispatch paid staff to the state or open any field offices. The campaign said it has 150 active volunteers hosting “Pete Ups," debate watch parties, phone banks, policy discussions and other events.

Supporters have gathered for community service projects like cleaning public parks and walking dogs at animal shelters in addition to more traditional organizing events. A campaign official said the idea is to give voters a stronger sense of belonging in their community.

Buttigieg’s campaign is also putting a focus on mobilizing first-time voters and college students. "Students for Pete” coalitions are active at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University.

The former South Bend, Ind. mayor hasn’t spent much time in Michigan during the last year. He participated in an NAACP forum and appeared at events in Detroit around the July Democratic debate but hasn’t held any public events in Michigan since.

Buttigieg held a private fundraiser in Saugatuck last summer. Buttigieg’s husband, a Traverse City native, also appeared at a fundraiser in Ingham County last summer.

The campaign said Buttigieg’s surrogates will hit the ground in Michigan in the next few weeks, putting a particular focus on 12 counties that voted for Trump after previously supporting Democratic President Barack Obama.

Trump also held campaign events and dispatched representatives several of the swing counties, including Macomb, Calhoun, Saginaw.

Trump’s ability to reverse poor Republican performances in past presidential elections was pivotal in his surprise win four years ago. Trump picked up 99,000 more votes than his Democratic opponent in those 12 counties and ultimately won the state by 10,700 votes.

Buttigieg earned the endorsement of Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss and state Sen. Adam Hollier, D-Detroit.

Other candidates, particularly former vice president Joe Biden, have accused Buttigieg of not being ready to sit in the Oval Office. Hollier defended the former small-town mayor’s lack of experience in a column in The Detroit News, writing “I trust him to make the best decisions on everything from infrastructure to Iran.”

Buttigieg raised $983,731 from Michiganders in 2019, according to Federal Election Commission data. Notable donors include Michigan philanthropists Kate Wolters and James Offield and former MSU Trustee Nancy Schlichting.

- U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., visited striking United Auto Workers on the picket line outside General Motors' Detroit-Hamtramack Assembly plant Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan. (Malachi Barrett | MLive.com)

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

Sanders is seeking a repeat victory in Michigan after pulling off a closely contested 2016 Democratic primary win.

The self-described “democratic-socialist” took Michigan by a 1.4-point margin last time, though he did not win the Democratic nomination. Sanders supported progressives candidates in the 2018 midterm elections and was among the first candidates to hold 2020 campaign events in Michigan.

This week, the Sanders campaign announced the expansion of its Michigan campaign team. The campaign hired a state coordinator and tapped Michigan League of Conservation voters Affairs Manager Alia Phillips to serve as its Michigan field director.

Sanders himself hasn’t campaigned in Michigan since October 2019, when he held a Detroit rally and accepted the endorsement of U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit.

The Vermont senator previously joined the picket line with striking United Auto Workers union members in September, held various events around July’s Democratic debate in Detroit and made several stops across the state in April.

Meanwhile, Sanders’ campaign has held nearly 700 voter engagement functions across Michigan, with many more scheduled in February. Most of the events were organized by volunteers.

Door-knocking campaigns, debate watch parties and phone banks scheduled this month focus on communities in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw counties while also reaching across the state to Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and Lansing, among others.

The Sanders campaign is also holding official volunteer training events to connect potential organizers with campaign staff. February meetups are scheduled in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Holland, East Lansing, Ferndale and the campuses of Central Michigan University and the University of Michigan.

Sanders has kept a focus on union workers, collecting the backing of more union groups than any other 2020 presidential candidate. The campaign has also dispatched supporters to strikes and protests in Michigan, like a Feb. 14 protest at the Detroit Metro Airport organized by airline catering workers.

Sanders secured endorsements from 2018 Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, state Rep. Abdullah Hammoud, D-Dearborn, Benton Harbor Mayor Marcus Muhammad, and Michigan’s chapter of the Young Democrats of America.

Michiganders have made 175,000 donations to Sanders, according to the campaign, totaling more than $2.8 million. FEC filings show Sanders collected $460,089 in individual contributions from Michigan residents in 2019.

Notable donors include Mark Sellers, who owns the parent company of HopCat, Stella’s Lounge and Grand Rapids Brewing Co.

Former Vice President Joe Biden sits with NAACP Detroit President Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, and Biden's sister Valerie Biden at Detroit One coney island Thursday afternoon, the day after the second Democratic debate night in Detroit, Aug. 1, 2019.Tanya Moutzalias | MLive.com

Former Vice President Joe Biden

Biden faced crushing defeats in the Iowa caucus in New Hampshire primary, failing to crack into the top three in either race, but promised supporters he would do better more diverse states. As Biden puts his focus on Nevada and South Carolina, his surrogates in Detroit are also keeping busy.

Biden picked up the endorsement of Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan fairly early in the primary. The campaign also scored endorsements from several Democratic lawmakers representing Detroit, including Sen. Marshall Bullock and state Reps. Joe Tate, Karen Whitsett and Tenisha Yancey.

Tate hosted an event to kick off organizing efforts in metro Detroit at the end of January and Duggan hosted a phone bank for the campaign last month. A “Students for Biden” coalition also held an organizing kickoff at the University of Michigan last month.

Biden was also endorsed by the Michigan Democratic Party Black Caucus and state Rep. Sarah Cambensy, D-Marquette. A Biden official said the campaign will lean on surrogates to spread its message across the state this month.

The former vice president hasn’t held any public events in Michigan since meeting voters at a Detroit coney Island after the Democratic debate last summer.

Biden raised $413,953 from Michigan donors in 2019, according to FEC filings.

Notable donors include former Democratic Gov. Jim Blanchard, Detroit Medical Center Senior Vice President David Katz, former MSU Trustee Nancy Schlichting, Detroit Regional Chamber CEO Sandy Baruah, businessman Linden Nelson, and Detroit businessman Dennis Archer Jr., who hosted a fundraiser for Biden last year.

Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks at a town hall event held at Focus Hope in Detroit on Tuesday, June 4, 2019. Tanya Moutzalias | MLive.com

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

Warren was the first candidate to hire a state director for Michigan and open a field office in the state. The campaign said it has “dozens” of paid staff organizing a statewide outreach program in all 14 congressional districts.

The Massachusetts senator held five public appearances in Michigan so far this cycle, including rallies in Detroit and Lansing and appearances at forums hosted by the NAACP and United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. Warren also joined striking United Auto Workers on the picket line last September.

While Warren campaigns in early-voting states, U.S. Rep. Andy Levin, D-Bloomfield Township, has been the face of the campaign in the metro Detroit area. Levin represents Warren and other Democratic-leaning cities in the southern part of Macomb County, a key battleground in the general election.

Warren’s Michigan campaign scheduled voter outreach events in various cities throughout the month of February. Daily phone banks are also organized from the campaign’s Detroit field office.

The campaign holds “Michigan Weekends of Action” with volunteer events across the state to persuade undecided voters and encourage Warren supporters to take advantage of no-reason absentee voting.

Activist Jamira Burley hosted a “Black Women for Warren” brunch in Detroit in early February. The campaign is also holding an outreach event for black artisans in the Detroit area later this month.

Warren’s campaign scheduled an LGBTQ Summit in Ferndale on Feb. 15. The event features Pulse nightclub shooting survivor and gun violence activist Brandon Wolf, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, and Michigan activists.

In addition to McMorrow and Levin, Warren scored endorsements from state lawmakers like Sens. Rosemary Bayer, D-Beverly Hills; and Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit; and state Reps. Laurie Pohutsky, D-Livonia; Jim Ellison, D-Royal Oak and Bill Sowerby, D-Clinton Township.

Warren also has the endorsement of local officials like Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor, Macomb County Democratic Party Chair Ed Bruley and former Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer. The campaign said it has the support of nearly 50 Michigan elected officials and progressive leaders.

Warren raised $306,147 from Michigan donors in 2019, according to FEC filings.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, left, shows reporters a map of Great Lakes shipping routes while visiting Nicholson Terminal & Dock on a tour of Midwest states Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019 in River Rouge, Michigan. (Malachi Barrett | MLive.com)

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.

Klobuchar has touted her Midwest sensibilities in Democratic debates and her six public visits to Michigan during the last year.

“We need someone that has people’s back,” Klobuchar said during the Detroit Democratic debate. “We also need someone that can win. And I have won in these red districts. I win in the Midwest. I can win in states like Wisconsin and Michigan and Iowa.”

While Klobuchar has visited Michigan more than any candidate, a look at her campaign website shows no grassroots organizing events planned for February. Her campaign hasn’t announced any endorsements from Michigan surrogates and did not provide any details about the size of its operation in the state.

Klobuchar was the first presidential candidate to visit striking General Motors workers on the picket line last summer, bringing doughnuts to union workers outside the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant during a bus tour of “blue wall" states. The last time Klobuchar visited Michigan was for a September 2019 forum held by the United Food and Commercial Workers International.

A spokesperson for Klobuchar’s campaign said the Minnesota senator will “continue ramping up operations” in Michigan.

Klobuchar raised $132,615 from Michigan donors in 2019, according to FEC filings.

Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks before a democratic presidential candidate forum at the NAACP National Convention at Cobo Center in Detroit Wednesday, July 24 2019.Jacob Hamilton/MLive.com

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg

Bloomberg has made a big push in Michigan during the last two months, scooping up endorsements and dispatching an army of paid staff across the state.

Bloomberg visited Detroit twice since launching his campaign last fall. He attended the opening of a campaign office in Detroit last December and addressed a crowd of 450 people at an Eastern Market venue in early February.

The campaign claims it has the most robust field organization in Michigan of any Democratic presidential candidate. Bloomberg is skipping the first four primary contests and pouring resources into Michigan and Super Tuesday states.

The former New York mayor hired 65 organizers for his Michigan operation and will raise that number to 90 in the next few weeks, according to the campaign. Bloomberg’s team also announced plans to open 10 field offices throughout the state and cut the ribbon on offices in Detroit, Ann Arbor, Flint, Warren and Bloomfield Hills.

Bloomberg scored an endorsement from U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Rochester Hills, who said he can beat Trump on economic issues. Stevens flipped Michigan’s 11th House District in 2018 and received $2.2 million from a political action committee Bloomberg funded.

He also picked up endorsements from Wayne County Executive Warren Evans and the former mayors of several Michigan cities, including Lansing’s Verg Bernero, Flint’s Karen Weaver, Inkster’s Byron Nolen and Adrian’s Jim Berryman.

The campaign held 30 voter contact events across Michigan last week. It already launched an outreach program targeting seniors and retirees and Bloomberg met with more than 50 mayors and ministers across the state during a February visit to Detroit.

Bloomberg is self-funding his campaign, so he hasn’t accepted donations from anyone in Michigan. FEC filings show no contributions for Bloomberg in 2019.

Other candidates

Billionaire activist Tom Steyer hasn’t had much of a presence in Michigan. He hasn’t held any public appearances and Steyer’s website lists no upcoming events in February.

The campaign did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

While Steyer hasn’t stepped foot in the state, he spent $166,481 on Facebook ads targeting Michigan users during the last three months. Steyer has also purchased two political ads that ran in Michigan since November, according to a candidate tracker published by FiveThirtyEight.

Steyer raised $1,967 from Michigan donors in 2019, according to FEC filings. No donor has given more than $250.

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, also hasn’t campaigned in Michigan outside her appearance at last year’s Democratic debate in Detroit. Her campaign website lists no upcoming events in Michigan.

Gabbard’s campaign could not be reached for comment.

Gabbard raised $64,367 from Michigan donors in 2019, according to FEC filings. Notable donors include Manoj Bhargava, a Farmington Hills billionaire and GOP donor.