Manchester
It was a chance for Trump to show off his trade policy chops, but New Hampshire state campaign Co-Chairman Fred Doucette said the intimate event also was supposed to be a chance to win over Trump skeptics, rather than the massive rallies the Trump campaign usually holds to fire up his die-hard supporters.
In addition to Trump loyalists being given tickets to the event, the New Hampshire GOP had been given 150 tickets to distribute as well, an attempt to bring others into the fold, Doucette said.
“They are part of the team, it’s unity,” Doucette said of the fact the state Republican party was handing out tickets to the event. “It’s not all about Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump recognizes that he needs people who are less than enthusiastic about his campaign.”
It’s yet another sign of an initially fractured group of Republicans coming together as the general election nears. But in addition to message, GOP members also are starting to focus on organization.
The Trump campaign currently has the same number of staffers in New Hampshire as they did during the primary season — about 12, according to Matt Ciepielowski, New Hampshire state director for the Trump campaign.
“We’re getting the groundwork laid out now,” Ciepielowski said, adding the campaign is working closely with the New Hampshire GOP and Republican National Committee.
Ciepielowski said his staff is working on getting organized with regional volunteer leaders in various cities and towns — people he described as Trump campaign “workhorses.”
“Getting those folks ready to reach out to their people,” Ciepielowski said.
Trump’s campaign infrastructure leading up to the New Hampshire primary was small compared to the large campaigns of Democratic candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton and his Republican challengers.
Trump’s small staff primarily focused on phone-banking and relied on help from volunteers scattered across the state and country.
Still, Trump won that primary with 35 percent of the vote, something Doucette said will be replicated in the general.
“I hope they keep thinking we have nothing going,” he said. “If you only knew; we got a plan and we got a team and we’re in motion.”
In the coming months, the Trump campaign in New Hampshire also will be working closely with the state Republican party and the Republican National Committee.
The Trump campaign recently hired New Hampshire Republican operative Mike Biundo to the position of national senior advisor. Biundo previously worked for the Rand Paul and John Kasich campaigns.
The Republican National Committee is working to supplement the Trump operation.
It has been building an operation in the state for more than one year.
It currently has 29 paid staff in the state and a network of over 160 volunteers working under the guidance of four regional field directors.
In addition, the state Republican party also will be working to support Trump in addition to senate, gubernatorial and state races.
“The NHGOP is all in for the nominee,” the organization’s executive director Ross Berry said.
Berry said the state party is meeting daily to work on voter contact with door knocking, phone banking and house parties.
He said Trump is bringing “new energy to the party, and I am excited to see it.”
The New Hampshire Democratic party also is building a coordinated operation with the Hillary Clinton campaign in New Hampshire.
Party Chairman Ray Buckley recently told WMUR-TV there would eventually be about 100 staffers and 24 field offices as part of that effort.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s New Hampshire visit was announced last minute, with the campaign notifying the press less than 24 hours before the doors were set to open.
New Hampshire Trump campaign Co-Chairman Al Baldasaro said he was notified a few days ago that Trump would be making an appearance in the Granite State, but he said the venue was not settled until yesterday.
Audience members sat on chairs in the old parking lot of the former Osram Sylvania manufacturing plant, with grass poking up through the pavement.
The huge, empty building provided a backdrop as Trump talked about the state losing jobs as companies moved manufacturing overseas.
Throughout the hourlong speech and question-and-answer period that followed, Trump hit rival Clinton on trade, comparing himself to Sanders on the issue.
“There’s nothing that’s closer to my heart than trade, there’s nothing closer to my heart than the workers who are being so badly taken care of,” Trump said.
Osram Sylvania closed in 2014, resulting in the loss of nearly 140 jobs, according to news media reports.
Though Trump stated the company had closed due to trade deals such as NAFTA, the move came as sales declined for traditional lighting products and Osram Sylvania was prompted to restructure, a company spokesperson told the Union Leader.
The company still runs facilities in Hillsboro and Exeter.
The South Willow Street property is now being redeveloped, at a cost of $30 million to $40 million, into a retail shopping mall set to open in fall 2017, said developer Dick Anagnost, president of Anagnost Co.
His partners at Brady Sullivan arranged the Trump speech, he said. Anagnost received word through email and will not be able to attend because of a prior commitment. He hasn’t decided who to vote for in November.
“I am a neither supporter right now,” said Anagnost, who voted for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in the Republican primary. “I am an independent voter anyway. I want to see how more things shake out.”