Obama will be the third Clinton surrogate there this week, following Bernie Sanders on Tuesday and Chelsea Clinton on Wednesday. In addition, the campaign is boosting its television advertising in the state and will be "dramatically expanding" its direct mail and digital advertising efforts there by more than $2 million, campaign manager Robby Mook announced Monday.
"Donald Trump's hateful rhetoric and deeply disrespectful remarks about Sen. John McCain have made Arizona more competitive," Mook told reporters on a conference call. "This is a state that would really foreclose a path for Donald Trump to win the White House."
Arizona is just one of the states where the Clinton campaign will be expanding its efforts, not only to elect Clinton but to boost Democrats in other key races.
• The campaign is adding $6 million to its mail and digital advertising efforts in seven traditional battleground states: Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, Nevada, North Carolina, Iowa and New Hampshire.
• It will spend an additional $250,000 for voter turnout efforts in Nebraska's second congressional district and Maine's second congressional district, which each account for one electoral vote and where Democrats are seeking to hold or win back seats in the House.
• The Hillary Victory Fund will spend an additional $1 million in Indiana and Missouri, states where Clinton trails narrowly and where Democrats are also waging competitive campaigns for Senate and governor.
Clinton's campaign, like both of President Obama's, toyed with the possibility of expanding the electoral map but ultimately focused on the same nine or 10 states. Mook especially has been a restraining force within the campaign as some have lobbied for them to place additional candidate time and resources in places like Arizona, Georgia and Utah, among others.
"Our mission as a presidential campaign is to make sure that Secretary Clinton wins at least 270 electoral votes, and that will continue to be our primary mission," he repeated.
But Clinton also wants to see Democrats across the country elected where possible, he added, and Trump's recent challenges appear to have given them reason to believe those efforts are worthwhile.
"Donald Trump is becoming more unhinged by the day, and that is increasing prospects for Democrats further down the ballot because of higher-than-expected turnout and enthusiasm," Mook said.
Los Angeles News Reports