Hillary Clinton barnstorms Ohio as Republicans meet
CINCINNATI -- As the Republican Party kicks off its convention in Cleveland, Hillary Clinton and her campaign are kicking off their own effort to win over voters in Ohio and beyond.
"I am pleased to announce a nationwide drive to get 3 million people to register to vote and commit to vote in this election," Clinton said, speaking at the annual gathering of the NAACP in Cincinnati on Monday morning. "We're going to minor league baseball games, college campuses, barber shops, hair salons, street corners."
Encouraging the crowd to stand up for their right to vote, Clinton quoted Martin Luther King, Jr.: "Our lives begin to end when we become silent about things that matter."
Clinton is expected to speak later Monday about her plan at an organizing event set up specifically for volunteers in Cincinnati, before traveling to Minneapolis to address members of the American Federation of Teachers. On Tuesday, she'll meet with union members gathered for a convention in Las Vegas and campaign at an additional voter registration event.
It's just one part of a week of work by Clinton and Democrats to steal the spotlight away from the other party and the man they'll soon nominate for President, Donald Trump. Throughout the convention, the Clinton campaign will work with state parties to host more than 500 registration or "commit-to-vote" events across the country.
"The contrast between the two parties this week could not be more clear," said a Clinton aide who provided a preview of the effort. "While the Republican Party will spend four days highlighting Donald Trump's divisive candidacy, Hillary Clinton will continue to make the case that we're stronger together."
In a memo to "Interested Parties" released on Sunday evening, Clinton's Ohio state director, Chris Wyant, wrote that their campaign "will be using every day of this week to expand our campaign in Ohio." The state campaign is set to open six offices across the state starting Thursday, adding to the half dozen that are already open.
And on the ground in Cleveland, Clinton's staff is working with the Democratic party to engage voters and members of the media using a hashtag: #BetterThanThis. On a call with reporters earlierMonday, DNC Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz described their mission as a "counter-convention."
"We're here because, if elected, Donald Trump will severely damage our economy," she said, "and make our communities less safe."
Clinton, who predicted last week that what happens in Cleveland would be "entertaining," acknowledged the convention at the top of her remarks in Cincinnati.
"We all know about that other convention happening up in Cleveland today," she said. "Now, my opponent in this race may have a different view, but there's nowhere I'd rather be than right here with all of you."