With three weeks until Election Day, Hillary Clinton's team is stepping up its coordinated campaign efforts, sending an additional $6 million to seven battleground states with competitive Senate races.
The campaign is also expanding its efforts in states where the campaign admits that Clinton faces an uphill battle, but where down-ballot Democrats could get a boost from increased turnout.
The Clinton campaign now sees the presidential battlefield expanding to Arizona, where it intends to spend an additional $2 million that will also benefit down-ballot Democrats. First Lady Michelle Obama will campaign for Clinton in Phoenix on Thursday, the campaign announced Monday.
Donald Trump and his comments about Sen. John McCain have made Arizona more competitive, Hillary for America campaign manager Robby Mook said on a press call Monday morning.
Mook specifically highlighted Arizona's two competitive House races in the 1st and 2nd District, where Democratic candidates could benefit from Clinton's increased attention to the state.
Missouri and Indiana are tougher states for Clinton to carry. But with competitive Senate and gubernatorial races, the two red states will see a combined $1 million from the coordinated campaign. The investment will go toward mail and radio and digital advertising to boost Democrats down-ballot.
An additional quarter million dollars will go to the 2nd Congressional Districts in Maine and Nebraska, where electoral votes are up for grabs. With freshman Rep. Brad Ashford, Democrats are trying to hold onto that Nebraska seat, while in Maine, Democrats are trying to flip that seat blue with Democratic recruit Emily Cain.
"Donald Trump is becoming more unhinged by the day," Mook said, suggesting that opportunities are growing for Democrats down-ballot because of increased enthusiasm and high turnout projections. The campaign is expecting turnout to be the highest ever this year.
But "we can't slack off now," Mook said.
The Clinton team's coordinated campaign has offices in all 50 states, with 455 offices in battleground states alone. The campaign estimates it has spent more than $100 million on coordinated efforts to benefit down-ballot Democrats so far. The Hillary Victory Fund, the joint victory committee set up with the Democratic National Committee, also recently transferred $2.5 million each to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
The Clinton campaign is supporting 24 of the DCCC's Red to Blue candidates and three of its Frontline candidates.
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