LAS VEGAS — Even before any Nevadan gathered for caucuses, and long before any results were known, Sen. Amy Klobuchar was tamping down expectations.
And that caution was justified. Sen. Klobuchar appears headed for a fifth-place finish behind four better known candidates. That group included two she bested in New Hampshire, Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren.
She got a late start in this western state, making her first staff hire in November. And she didn't start advertising on TV here until she got a fundraising boost from her strong performance in New Hampshire's primary.
"Every state’s important, but we know we were coming from behind here, due to the fact we had less resources than some of the other campaigns, so we build here quickly," Sen. Klobuchar told KARE.
The $12 million fundraising bounce in the wake of New Hampshire presented a tough choice: whether to go all out in Nevada or keep some money in the bank for Super Tuesday when 15 states are up for grabs.
"We went on TV here but we knew we also wanted to not put everything here because we have all these super Tuesday states," Klobuchar explained.
We went to Twitter Sunday morning with a forward-looking post.
"We're not just resisting. We're insisting on a better way forward," Klobuchar wrote.
"As President, I'll continue to move this country in a better direction."
She has continued to go to rallies and fundraisers in Super Tuesday states, and make television appearances.
"I was in Aurora, Colorado this week and I'm headed for a rally in Fargo," she told supporters in Vegas. "I challenge my opponents: how many have done rallies in Fargo? This is actually my second one!"
And Minnesota's senior senator continues to do very well with newspaper editorial boards in Super Tuesday states. In the past week she's captured the endorsements of the Seattle Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Houston Chronicle.
"The newspaper endorsements are going to help me in states that don’t know me as well," Klobuchar told reporters in Las Vegas.
During a caucus morning rally with volunteers she acknowledged that her supporters and the traveling press have listened to her life story many times, but she has to assume that there are new voters who are tuning into debate and just now paying attention to the election.
"I know you guys who say I’ve heard them say tell that story five times, I know, 'Coffee can in the basement'! There are millions of people who say, "Oh wow'!"
But she's going to have to raise more money to scale up her campaign to compete in 15 states at the same time. Another complicating factor is that Michael Bloomberg has hired up a lot of the available political staffing talent throughout the nation.
And while most of the attention in on Bernie Sanders garnering front runner status after three states, Klobuchar believes her underdog campaign is still building momentum.
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