O'Malley, supporters confident in retail approach [View all]

[elleng]

Martin O'Malley remains confident his county-by-county approach can lead him to an Iowa caucus win, even in the face of sluggish poll numbers.

“I believe that the candidate that emerges on caucus night is that candidate who campaigns the way we’ve been campaigning," the former Maryland governor said on Sunday, preparing to finish a weekend swing through Des Moines and three southeast Iowa towns.

The Democratic presidential hopeful spent the weekend as he often has over the last three months, speaking to audiences of 30 to 75 Iowans in backyards and coffee shops, as well as a Sunday stop at the Latino Heritage Festival in Des Moines. In August, the Washington Post described his campaign as "slogging" through the state.

He leads the Democratic field in the number of days spent in Iowa, but despite that title lags in polls far behind former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Still, O'Malley said he expects his retail politicking to pay off after being asked in an interview with The Des Moines Register whether he plans to change his campaigning style in response to the polls. The success of his campaign's efforts is shown by endorsements from a dozen county party chairs, and he's visited at least 40 of Iowa's 99 counties, he said.

He also suspects many caucusgoers are still undecided as the party waits for a decision from Vice President Joe Biden.

"This is the way we’re going to campaign and I believe that we will emerge on caucus night as the surprise of the night," O'Malley said. "I know that creates some frustration along the way, because it’s hard for the polling to pick up on that sort of campaigning.”

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/09/27/omalley-supporters-confident-retail-approach/72936388/