Ninety-nine days until voting in New Hampshire, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are in a competitive battle when it comes to organizing — if not endorsements — in the nation’s first primary state.

In a memo Sunday, Clinton’s state director, Mike Vlacich, touted the strength of his candidate’s organization, having secured the endorsements New Hampshire’s Democratic governor, senator, and representative, as well as of nine of the party’s 10 state senators. The campaign has also recruited 5,500 volunteers, according to the memo, and has “more than 50’’ paid staffers, Bloomberg reported Monday.

Jim Demers, the former state co-chair of Barack Obama’s first campaign, told Bloomberg the effort “really does rival that really aggressive campaign of 2008.’’


But the Sanders campaign thinks it can match.

Karthik Ganapathy, Sanders’ New Hampshire communicators director, told Boston.com Monday the Vemont senator’s campaign has enlisted 53 paid staffers and 4,600 volunteers in the state since August.

“We expect both numbers to grow considerably,’’ Ganapathy said, noting Clinton’s volunteer numbers are since April and built upon her presidential run in 2008, while the Sanders campaign has had to mobilize supporters in a smaller amount of time.

“According to those numbers, it suggests the energy Sanders has generated is manifesting into volunteers,’’ said Dante Scala, associate professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire, referring to the large crowds that campaign has attracted at rallies.

The Vermont senator has also opened 12 offices in the state, compared to Clinton’s 10 offices (with an 11th in Laconia due soon, according to Vlacich’s memo).

For Sanders, New Hampshire — described as a “must-win’’ by his state director Julia Barnes — is the one state where he has shown to be most competitive with Clinton — more often than not leading the former secretary of state in polls since August.

“This campaign is taking nothing for granted,’’ Ganapathy said Monday. “We’re working hard every day to reach voters, and making every investment needed to spread Sen. Sanders’ message across New Hampshire in the crucial months before Primary Day.’’


That commitment in the state doesn’t belie the fact that Clinton is nearly sweeping the so-called endorsement primary.

While endorsements without any volunteer muscle can ring hollow, according to Scala, when two sides are getting roughly equal volunteer numbers, “endorsements are a definite advantage.’’

Individual endorsements in New Hampshire rarely make much difference, he added, except when the endorser has a statewide organization to build a campaign upon. And Clinton has those exceptions in Gov. Maggie Hassan and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (whose 2014 campaign staffers makeupmuch of Clinton’s 2016 organization).

“The fact that she is dominating in endorsements shows where the party is,’’ Scala said, pointing out Sanders, a registered independent, is not a member of the Democratic Party.

While Sanders has had to essentially build an entire campaign since his state director, Barnes, was hired in August, the slate of prominent endorsements have aided Clinton with a ready-made campaign infrastructure.

“Collectively,’’ Scala said, “they matter.’’