Former Governor Martin O’Malley’s campaign has shifted resources and staffs to the early nominating states as the third place Democrat seeks to improve his standing. O’Malley is currently last in polling and is double-digits behind both Senator Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He has spent most of his time in Iowa, but the Real Clear Politics average pegs him at 4.5%. Bill Hyers, a campaign strategist, said that the candidate plans to “park” in the caucus state in the hopes of gaining support. This is similar to the strategy deployed by former Senator Rick Santorum in the 2012 nominating process. He camped out in Iowa and was incredibly active in the state. A few weeks before the caucus, he rose to the top of the polls and ended up winning the state.
Staffers in the national headquarters in Baltimore are being given the chance to relocate to an early voting state. However, campaign spokesperson Haley Morris says, “It could,” lead to a smaller workforce.
O’Malley had hinted at this plan on Sunday. He was asked about possible lay-offs and said, “Hopefully everybody will start moving out to Iowa or New Hampshire or South Carolina or Nevada. I mean that’s what happens in a national campaign.”
There are financial fears for the O’Malley campaign. It has brought in over $3 million, which is smaller than than Sanders or Clinton. The campaign also has a reported debt of $20,000.
The campaign announced 28 endorsements on Monday as the news of the reallocation broke. The longtime chair of the Polk County Democrats, Tom Henderson, endorsed O’Malley. Polk County is the largest in Iowa and includes Des Moines.
O’Malley did have a strong weekend with a widely praised debate performance. Many critics viewed O’Malley as the winner of the debate and he was more aggressive in attacking Clinton and Sanders.