by John McCormick
The ground game numbers war continues to escalate in Iowa, with the campaign for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama announcing today that it has opened its 32nd and 33rd field office in the state.
The new offices are in Fairfield and Perry, both regional towns with strong Democratic bases. The Illinois Democrat is expected to campaign in Perry on Saturday.
According to an analysis this week by The Des Moines Register, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York has the next-highest number of offices in the state, at 22. Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson follow at 15.
On Wednesday, meanwhile, NBC reported that Clinton plans to add 100 more paid staff members to Iowa by Nov. 1.
That would push her past Obama in total Iowa paid staff. The Register’s report showed Obama with 145, Edwards with 130, Clinton with 117 and 78 for Richardson.