Dozens of Arkansans will be heading to closely contested states during the final weeks of the 2016 presidential race to campaign for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
Known as the Arkansas Travelers, they'll hit at least three states between now and Election Day.
"We're going to go to Ohio next week -- we're taking 42 people -- and then we're planning to go to Pennsylvania in October and then Florida for the last weekend before the election," the group's coordinator, Sheila Bronfman, said Monday.
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Many of the Travelers, including Bronfman, have known the Clintons for decades. Others are too young to remember Hillary Clinton's Arkansas days. All of them will go door-to-door, promoting the candidacy of the former state and U.S. first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state.
"We're definitely hitting battleground states, trying to make as much of a difference as we possibly can," Bronfman said.
Next week's trip will take them to Cleveland. Next month, they'll fly to Pittsburgh.
During the trips, they do whatever is needed -- waving signs, greeting voters or giving interviews to local journalists.
It's a tactic that's been used in past campaigns.
When former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter was running for president in 1976, he had the backing of The Peanut Brigade, scores of fellow Georgians who fanned out across Iowa and New Hampshire, promoting their state's favorite son.
During his 1992 and 1996 presidential campaigns, Bill Clinton relied on his own set of Arkansas Travelers. Later, the organization was reassembled in time to boost Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign.
Earlier this year, they gathered again, traveling to New Hampshire, Tennessee, Missouri and Pennsylvania during the primaries to promote her 2016 bid.
Democratic Party of Arkansas Chairman Vince Insalaco, who joined the Travelers in Pennsylvania and Missouri this year, said the volunteers work long hours and they pay their own way.
"They're not looking for a job. They're not looking for an appointment. They do it because of how strongly they believe in not just the cause, the ideals, the agenda, but the person whose representing it," he said.
It's an effective campaign tool, he said. "It has a real impact, particularly in smaller states, in smaller communities."
The Ohio-bound group ranges from senior citizens to college students.
First-year University of Arkansas law school student Ezra Smith, 22, will be one of the younger members.
"I'll be missing a few classes, and I hope my teachers will understand," he said.
He went door-to-door with the Missouri contingent and was eager to make another trip.
"I feel kind of inspired to do it," he said. "I'm an Arkansan just like the Clintons, and their legacy is something that I feel and experience here in the state."
Former state Sen. Brenda Gullett, D-Fayetteville, said she enjoys the campaigning and is looking forward to Ohio.
"Hillary, she's on the big stage, and we're just doing a tiny little part. ... [We're] not the cast. We're part of the crew," she said. "It's really a small thing, but we're hoping it pays big dividends."
A Section on 09/13/2016