In an age where campaign war chests measure in the hundreds of millions and digital media rules, direct contact with presidential hopefuls seems unattainable. Presidential candidates can stump for months on end, but they will still only reach a fraction of the American populous. That’s where campaign offices come in: they are one of the few remaining opportunities for the average Joe to make a connection to their candidate of choice.

Beyond clashing political platforms, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are both at odds in their distinct campaign trail approaches. Whereas Trump is focused on attracting as much media attention as possible, Clinton is set on establishing her presence nationally with staff and offices across the country — from battleground states like Pennsylvania and Ohio, and the newest addition to the bunch right here in downtown Syracuse.

Opened on Sept. 10, the East Washington St location may just be one office, but it reflects an important part of the Democratic candidate’s endgame. By staking a tangible claim in central New York and thereby making Clinton more approachable, field offices like the Syracuse one are a crucial part of her path to victory.

Allowing people to talk to a representative campaign in person can have an enormous impact — something the Trump campaign seems to have overlooked. Particularly when some voters may see Clinton as cold and untrustworthy, field offices are crucial to bridging the gap between voters and the campaign. As evidenced by her recent interview with Humans of New York, Clinton is pushing back on this characterization of her in every way that she can.

States like New York that have a propensity to solidly vote for one party usually don’t get much attention during the election season: New York has voted Democrat in the last seven presidential elections. Still, in this polarized election season, the breakdown of New York makes an interesting case for Clinton opening a Syracuse office.

While Clinton won out over Trump in Onondaga County in the primary elections, upstate and central New York had a more mixed voting record, according to Politico, with the rural areas providing much of the Republican support.  Many of the counties surrounding Onondaga — which include Cayuga, Oswego, Madison, Cortland — swung in favor of Trump. Clinton’s new campaign office will provide a regional locale not just simply to reinforce Onondaga’s democratic majority, but to influence voters throughout central New York.

Clinton’s dedication to establishing offices echoes the successes of President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, when he had hundreds of offices throughout the country. As of the end of August, Clinton’s campaign had established 291 field offices in the 15 largest swing states. By comparison, Donald Trump’s campaign had 88 offices in those same states, according to PBS.

Setting itself apart further from Trump’s fixation on gaining publicity through controversy, the move to open an office in Syracuse was a conscious decision on behalf of the Clinton campaign. Miryam Lipper, a spokesperson for Clinton, described the campaign’s “50-state strategy.” The goal is to put staff members and resources on the ground in all 50 states, no matter what the odds are of winning each state.

“The goal of the 50-state strategy is twofold: the first is local party and down-ballot races,” said Miryam Lipper, a spokesperson for the Clinton campaign. “The second is to make sure every voter has the opportunity to engage with the campaign, whether to knock on doors (or) to work on a phone bank.”

In a political climate where both Republicans and Democrats view the opposing party as a “threat” to the country, any strategy to make lasting personal connections with voters and humanize their party’s leader should be explored. Fast forward to a year from now: a Hillary Clinton presidency, though undoubtedly divisive, has benefited from the hundreds of offices established during the campaign season.

By enlisting figures like Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner, Congressional candidate Colleen Deacon and other local Democratic politicians, the Clinton campaign is poised to make that it is longstanding, credible impact in central New York. As seen by the opening of this office, despite the influence of special interests and powerful donors, the power to govern still rests with the people.

Cole Jermyn is a sophomore environmental resource engineering major and economics minor at SUNY-ESF. He can be reached at cdjermyn@syr.edu and followed on twitter @Cjermyn8.

Published on September 18, 2016 at 11:32 pm