Hillary Clinton is reportedly considering making staff changes at her presidential campaign headquarters after what is likely to be a loss in the New Hampshire Democratic primary Tuesday.
Politico, citing multiple sources with knowledge of the matter, reported that Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, were initially planning to review staff at the Brooklyn, New York, headquarters following the first four Democratic primaries but pushed to move the review up after she nearly lost to competitor Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) in the Iowa caucuses.
"The Clintons are not happy, and have been letting all of us know that. The idea is that we need a more forward-looking message, for the primary--but also for the general election too … There’s no sense of panic, but there is an urgency to fix these problems right now," a Democratic official with a line of communication to the Clintons reportedly said.
Sources close to Clinton faulted the former secretary of state for creating a disorganized campaign by not appointing a chief strategist. A 2008 aide to Barack Obama described Clinton’s current campaign as "kind of rudderless."
"[She’s] going to be the nominee, but she’s not going to get any style points and if she isn’t careful she is going to be a wounded nominee. And they better worked this s--t out fast because who ever the Republicans pick is going to be 29 times tougher than Bernie," the aide said.
The Clintons, dissatisfied with the messaging and digital operations of the campaign, have reportedly zeroed in on campaign senior strategist Joel Benenson in the days since Iowa. Clinton beat Sanders by a narrow 0.25 percentage points in the Democratic caucus there, an error-filled voting process that has prompted increased pressure on the state Democratic Party to audit the results.
Clinton is expected to lose to Sanders in Tuesday’s primary in New Hampshire, where Sanders leads by 16 percentage points, according to recent polling.
Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign underwent a shake-up when she began losing to then-Sen. Obama.