CONCORD, New Hampshire — The Senate impeachment trial comes at an inopportune time for Democratic presidential hopefuls who must also serve as jurors, keeping them away from campaigning in early states just weeks before the highly anticipated Feb. 3 Iowa caucuses and Feb. 11 New Hampshire primary.
But the campaigns are deploying creative campaign tactics to get around their inability to leave Washington during the week, including by giving family members and those who have endorsed them larger-than-usual roles as they scramble to make up for candidates’ absences.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, 78, had secured a private chartered flight to Iowa on Wednesday night, but later canceled a planned rally due to changes in the impeachment trial schedule that will keep him in Washington.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the left-wing, firebrand representative from New York, will host three events for Sanders in Iowa on Friday and Saturday.
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s daughter is hosting “hot-dish house parties” in Iowa, using Minnesota’s signature casserole to lure voters. New Hampshire state officials who endorsed Klobuchar are holding “office hours” in support of her campaign.
“On evenings and weekends, bookers will have a chance to meet up at cafes, libraries, and field offices all around the state,” said New Hampshire Executive Councilor Debora Pignatelli, offering voters an opportunity to speak with those “who have met Amy and can personally speak to her qualifications.”
The “office hours” aim to reach “all corners of our electorate,” Pignatelli explained, even though Klobuchar must sit in the impeachment trial rather than build relationships with communities in the state.
“It’s not an ideal situation,” said former New Hampshire Attorney General Joe Foster, another Klobuchar supporter, during a chilly press conference at the New Hampshire state legislative office building surrounded by a dozen other supporters of the Minnesota senator. “When and if she can get up here, she will be here to campaign.”
[Previous coverage: Looming Senate impeachment trial throws wrench in Democratic presidential campaign plans]
Proxies are prepared to do more heavy lifting to lure voters they meet to Klobuchar events once she makes it back to the state.
“When Amy is in town, or when there’s an event, my hope is to call them, and if I need to go and pick them up myself, I will,” Pignatelli said.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren will be represented in Iowa this week by twin politicians Julian Castro, former secretary of state and ex-2020 presidential candidate, and Joaquin Castro, a Texas congressman. Her husband, Bruce Mann, and Michigan Rep. Andy Levin will host events for her in New Hampshire over the weekend. Actress Ashley Judd headlines three events in New Hampshire on Friday in Warren’s place.
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, who barely registers in the polls, is forgoing spending any time raising money during the trial and instead will virtually attend town halls in Iowa and New Hampshire through telephone and Facebook Live. His wife, Susan Daggett, and former Ohio Gov. Dick Celeste will stump for him in New Hampshire later this week.
Though impeachment risks boosting top-tier candidates former vice president Joe Biden and former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg, supporters of the juror candidates look on the bright side of the creative campaign events.
“Having Amy’s husband and her daughter here just shows how strong a family unit that they have, and I think getting to know the other people in the family lets you see the candidate in a different light,” said New Hampshire state Sen. Jeanne Dietsch, who supports Klobuchar.
