Hillary Clinton campaign ramps up in Iowa

It’s been eight years since the last time Hillary Clinton ran the type of labor-intensive campaign the Iowa Democratic caucuses require.

Much of her campaign this cycle in Iowa has been under the radar. But with four months to go before the caucuses, watch for things to kick into high gear.

The Clinton campaign is boosting the number of field offices it has in state, hosting open houses at seven new locations including Burlington, Carroll, Clinton, Grinnell, Mason City, Muscatine and Waukee.

These open houses will be opportunities to recruit new volunteers and start bringing back into the fold the rank and file Iowa Democrats who have been her backers all along.

Many of the same people who caucused for Hillary back in the ’08 cycle are strongly backing her today. That includes legislators and political elites who endorsed her during a grueling primary fight in 2008. In Iowa, the caucus contest that year amounted to a three-way race among Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards. Other candidates registered only in the single digits.

At this point, Clinton has highlighted the issues of working families, particularly women and children, better than any other candidate in the race. Unfortunately, many of her messages have been buried while the media focuses on the circus surrounding Donald Trump and State Department emails.

Make no mistake — Clinton is still the superstar in the Democratic field, even if Vice President Joe Biden jumps in the race.

Even though Iowa Democrats have love in their hearts for Biden, he couldn’t pull in 1 percent of the delegates in the 2008 caucuses, while Clinton secured nearly 30 percent.

Clinton’s first trip back to Iowa as a candidate for 2016 brought a crush of onlookers to her visit to the Iowa State Capitol and her other stops around the state.

Now is the time for Clinton to remind Democrats why they like her — for her staunch advocacy for working men and women, for children and for labor.

The 2016 Iowa caucuses are hers to win if she campaigns aggressively in the Hawkeye State.