The Hillary Clinton campaign opened a new office in Lawrence on Wednesday, the same day Bernie Sanders held a rally in Kansas City.
The Kansas caucuses are right around the corner, and with the tight battle between Sanders and Clinton, every delegate counts.
"Kansas is an incredibly important state," explained Clinton volunteer Mo Shatara. "We've been on the ground since last spring. We've really been upping the ground game here in Kansas."
Shatara is one of a number of volunteers who will be working out of the Lawrence office making calls and planning the local campaign.
On top of the new operation in Lawrence, the Clinton campaign is currently running offices in Manhattan, Overland Park and Wichita.
"It's one of the first states after Super Tuesday," he said. "It's an incredibly important state, and we want to make sure we reach everybody."
The office is opening a week after former first daughter Chelsea Clinton made a stop in Overland Park.
Right now, Clinton and Sanders are in a tight battle. A state like Kansas, home to just six electoral votes in the presidential election, could prove to be crucial in the race for the Democratic nomination.
"Even smaller contests in states that don't typically matter in the presidential election because they tend to go Republican or Democrat, during primary season, they can be quite important because every delegate counts," explained UMKC political science associate professor Beth Vonnahme.
Since Kansas votes by caucus, Vonnahme said turnout will be a big factor during the contest.
"A candidate that can inspire passion on the part of the public is obviously going to have a huge advantage," she explained.
Kansas switched to a caucus system in 2008. Vonnahme said cost was the most likely reason for the switch.
"The main benefit [of a caucus] is that it costs the state nothing," explained Vonnahme. "Since they're party-run contests, the parties pay for them."
Vonnahme said having a caucus as opposed to a primary saves Kansas about $2 million.
The Kansas caucuses are being held on Saturday, March 5th. Only a photo ID is required in order to vote.
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Tom Dempsey can be reached at tom.dempsey@kshb.com.
