Hillary Clinton’s second presidential campaign started in earnest Tuesday, when the candidate woke up in Iowa and began to make her way to her first organized event: A roundtable at Kirkwood Community College in Monticello, Iowa.
On the way to the event, Clinton, her staff and a small number of pooled press stopped for a prearranged visit to Jones St. Java House in Le Claire, Iowa.
Clinton greeted a few patrons in the coffee shop and spoke about the long, cold winter, according to reports from the small pool of reporters who were allowed by the campaign to attend the event.
She was met by Mayor Scanel of Le Claire, his wife and Jeff Williams, husband of the coffee shop’s co-owner and a small business owner.
Clinton ordered two drinks: A Masala Chai and a caramallow latte, and also asked for a cup of water with lemon.
Clinton, according to an aide, met with three Iowans at the coffee shop: Sara Sedlacek, a Planned Parenthood employee, Austin Bird, a student at St. Ambrose University and Carter Bell, president of the University of Iowa College Democrats.
The newly minted presidential candidate, who needs to perform well in Iowa to dispense with negative memories of her 2008 campaign, joked with staff that she is going to “drink my away across Iowa.”
Campaign aides want Clinton will do exactly that, crisscross the state in the coming months to do small events at restaurants, coffee shops and peoples homes. The move is intentional: Campaign aides want Clinton to be seen as more down-to-earth than her 2008 effort was viewed.
Clinton’s community college event on Tuesday will be small: There will be just 22 seats inside the auto body classroom for “everyday Americans,” as Clinton’s campaign has taken to calling them.
“We expect the caucus to be competitive,” said Matt Paul, Clinton’s 2016 Iowa campaign manager. “Hillary’s committed to working hard to earn the support of every Iowan.”
Her visit to Monitcello, a town of 3,800, drew fascination — and praise — from Iowans who stopped by the community college to see the circus of media.
“The fact that she is coming to Monticello first, a small town in Iowa, she could have went to Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo,” said Kaela Weber, a Monticello High School junior whole will be 18 on Election Day. “I think it just means she is downhearted and just likes to care about the community and small town.”
Clinton did not answer questions when she left the coffee shop and said there will be more time for question in the future, according to the pool.
The presidential hopeful will also spend Wednesday in Iowa, where the former first lady will visit Capital City Fruit, a family-owned fruit and vegetable wholesaler.