Coronavirus spread upends traditional campaigning in home stretch of Ohio primary - cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Last Sunday, Ohio looked like it was going to be a key battleground in the Democratic presidential primary.

Campaigns were revving up their last push before the March 17 contest. Staff and volunteers were preparing their final canvasses. Both former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders had massive rallies scheduled in Cleveland to address the country after six states voted on March 10, with surrogates likely ready to blanket the state in a bid for earned media.

Four days later, that all had stopped. The first confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state – and with them, the cancellation of mass gatherings statewide two days later – have turned the Ohio primary landscape into a veritable ghost town.

Biden and Sanders notably canceled their Tuesday rallies, the first 2020 election casualty of the disease’s spread. By Thursday, nearly all face-to-face campaigning had stopped in the state, both Republican and Democrat.

“In light of concerns about coronavirus and out of an abundance of caution for our staff, volunteers and supporters, the Sanders campaign has asked all staff to work from home and will no longer hold large events or door-to-door canvasses, instead moving to digital formats and outreach wherever possible,” said Mike Casca, Sanders’ 2020 communications director.

A Biden campaign memo obtained by cleveland.com laid out a similar plan for day-to-day operations. Volunteers and staff were instructed to work from home and all offices – including campaign headquarters in Philadelphia – were closed to the public starting Saturday.

A spokesperson for Republican President Donald Trump’s campaign didn’t say if the president would also cancel rallies – arguably the backbone of his strategy – but the events section on his website is empty. A note says previously scheduled events are being converted into virtual seminars.

The shutdown of traditional campaign operations on the cusp of an election is unprecedented here in modern times.

All the campaigns that spoke with cleveland.com agreed campaigning was of a much lower concern than public health – including Gov. Mike DeWine’s response – and there was pretty much universal agreement that it’s required them to be flexible.

Never so stunningly, and quickly, has something like what’s transpired both in Ohio – and nationwide – happened on such a grand scale. Instead of engaging voters face-to-face, campaigns have been forced to instantly shift to phone and digital organizing.

“We’ve just adjusted as information has become available,” said Marvin Hayes, senior adviser to Sanders’ Ohio campaign. “Our volunteers and staff have been extremely flexible.”

Aaron Pickrell, a Democratic strategist who headed Democratic then-Sen. Barack Obama’s 2008 Ohio campaign, called the current situation “uncharted territory.”

“Traditionally, you’d be out knocking on doors and holding rallies and press events with surrogates and everything you can do to build momentum and enthusiasm going into Election Day,” Pickrell said. “Now we don’t have any of that.”

In a typical election environment, the last week before voting is the time when a candidate is searching for that last little bump in support to put them in the victory column.

Candidates make personal appearances at fairs, fish fries, church services, block clubs, organizational dinners or any other community events. They try to get as much earned media as possible – a front-page picture in the newspaper or a 30-second spot on the evening news. Volunteers and staff are mobilized for door-knocking and get-out-the-vote events.

And Tuesday would mark the election night watch parties where supporters can celebrate the work they’ve put in, some for more than a year.

Not so this time around.

“It’s an evolving situation,” said Jeff Sites, a Democrat running in a three-way primary to challenge Republican Rep. Jim Jordan in November. “We’re trying to be proactive. A lot of people think it’s overkill what we’re doing now, but the way the virus acts, it can incubate for… days. In that time, you’re continuing to spread it because you’re not aware of it.”

Instead, candidates are urging their supporters to work from home, mostly doing phone banking, text messaging or digital organizing. Virtual town halls have now become the norm among the presidential hopefuls.

While Biden and Sanders will almost surely have the resources to compete – including a Sunday debate with a heightened interest in politics from the home audience and no televised competition from sports – candidates in some of the down-ballot primaries are aware of the pressure that comes with having to change their strategy so rapidly, especially those hoping for a final boost heading into the weekend.

Melissa Ackison, a Republican engaged in a heated state Senate primary with state Rep. Bill Reineke, said one of the most difficult parts has been limiting contact. Handshakes, hugging and close one-on-one discussions are now essentially off the table.

“Me, personally, I miss being able to show up in a room and hug people or kiss their kids,” Ackison said. “I crave for that kind of human connection. Personally it’s been difficult, but when I decide not to door knock, I’m trying to protect the people from being offended in any way.”

Brittany Maloney, campaign manager for Nikki Foster, a Democrat running in a competitive primary for Ohio’s 1st Congressional District, said the rapid changes have everyone learning on the fly.

“The most difficult part has been, no one has ever run a GOTV race with a pandemic,” Maloney said. “Everyone is learning at the same time and figuring it out at the same time. Which is a little frustrating because you don’t have that institutional knowledge.”

Foster and her opponent, Kate Schroder, do have something of an advantage over candidates in other races. Foster is an Air Force Reservist and Schroder worked as a public health professional for 15 years, most recently as vice president of the Clinton Health Access Initiative. Their careers have required them to adapt to change.

Aside from the fluidity required by campaigns, though, are the changes that pose a logistical nightmare.

Polling locations have been changed late in the game, almost all of them in nursing homes with an older population that isn’t easily reachable.

“You have your seven days out plan and you’re communicating to people about getting out the vote. ‘Here’s your polling location,’” Schroder said. “Suddenly, polling locations are being closed and changed. You’re scrambling to try and reach residents with information and get out where new polling locations are. We’re really trying to encourage early voting so you can avoid lines.”

In a bizarre way, however, the widespread closures combined with social distancing recommendations create some opportunities. Voters are essentially a captive audience right now, glued to their mobile devices, on the computer or watching television.

“Anybody who has gross ratings points on television right now in Ohio is probably underpaying them by 50%,” said one Democratic adviser who asked for anonymity because of their involvement with a current campaign. “You have so many eyes who are going to be on your paid communication than normal because people aren’t leaving the house.”

Read more cleveland.com politics coverage:

Mapping Ohio’s 26 confirmed coronavirus cases

Cuyahoga County cuts poll worker shortage in half to 250

Sen. Sherrod Brown criticizes President Trump over pandemic office closure claim

Ohio House cancels sessions indefinitely due to coronavirus, leaving fate of voucher deal unclear

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Coronavirus spread upends traditional campaigning in home stretch of Ohio primary - cleveland.com
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