Presidential hopeful Kamala Harris has closed three of four campaign offices in New Hampshire, fired all non-volunteer staff in the state, and canceled visits to the state planned for next week.
“Senator Harris and this team set out with one goal – to win the nomination and defeat Donald Trump in 2020,” said campaign spokesman Nate Evans. “To do so, the campaign has made a strategic decision to realign resources to go all-in on Iowa, resulting in office closures and staff realignments and reductions in New Hampshire.”
Some staffers in New Hampshire, California, and Nevada have been pulled to assist in Iowa, which will hold its caucus February 3rd. New Hampshire’s primary occurs on Feb. 11th, followed by Nevada on the 22nd and South Carolina on the 29th.
“Senator Harris will not visit New Hampshire on November 6th and 7th, but her name will still be placed on the primary ballot,” confirmed Evans.
Harris had planned to file for the New Hampshire ballot in person, an event that typically draws throngs of supporters and press. Rivals Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg filed in person in New Hampshire last week.
Despite dismal polling averages of 3% in Iowa and 3.9% nationwide, Harris qualified for the December 19th primary debate in Los Angeles.
Unless she performs a miracle on the debate stage, I expect she will be the next candidate to drop out.
Beto O’Rourke, the former Texas Congressman who was narrowly defeated by Ted Cruz in the 2018 midterms, dropped out of the race last week, having failed to build an organized campaign despite name recognition, initial fundraising success, and public encouragement from Obama.
His team briefly considered the possibility of public financing as funds dried up, but decided it wouldn’t be enough to maintain a campaign capable winning.
“We have to clearly see at this point that we do not have the means to pursue this campaign successfully,” said O’Rourke to a small group of supporters in Des Moines, Iowa. O’Rourke described the experience of running for president as “transcendent” and “the honor of a lifetime,” but confirmed he would not “run for public office again if I’m not the nominee.”