ATLANTA (AP) – Donald Trump is a brash New Yorker who knows the path to the Republican presidential nomination runs through a swath of Southern states where residents pride themselves on graciousness and gentility.
He leads many state polls in the region just as he does nationally. In the last few weeks he’s hired staff members in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia to go along with staff in South Carolina, which hosts the South’s first primary.
“It’s almost like we’re running a campaign for president of the United States,” quipped Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski when asked about the expansion.
Lewandowski said the hires and Trump’s schedule – he’ll be in metro Atlanta on Saturday – are proof that Trump is in the race for good. Trump and his aides are pushing back on suggestions – fueled by his own comments – that he is plotting an exit in case his poll numbers continue to slide, as they have recently.
Lewandowski declined to talk about advertising plans and side-stepped questions on whether any firms have been hired to help with ballot access work. But he and political players in the South say Trump shouldn’t be taken lightly in the region, even if it may not seem like a natural fit.