WASHINGTON — (CNN) As Democrats turn to the general election, “hundreds” of staffers from Hillary Clinton’s campaign have begun to transition to the payroll at the Democratic National Committee, according to spokesman from the campaign and the Democratic committee.
The transition, which began in May, includes staffers who one Clinton aide said “are working in jobs that benefit the entire ticket, not just Hillary Clinton.” The aide added that the change will impact “hundreds of people across the country,” including staff at Clinton’s headquarters in Brooklyn.
The move is yet another signal that the Clinton’s primary campaign against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is officially over and that the former secretary of state is wholly turning her focus to the general election campaign and Donald Trump.
The Hill reported on Wednesday that “a majority” of Clinton’s staff “has transitioned immediately to the payroll at the Democratic National Committee.” A Clinton aide denies that report, arguing that the transition will not include a majority of staff and was not starting this week.
“We continue to work with the DNC and Democratic coordinated campaign to mobilize voters to support Hillary Clinton and Democrats up and down the ballot,” said Josh Schwerin, a Clinton spokesman. “Democrats will be unified in our efforts to defeat Donald Trump and elect progressive candidates at every level this November.”
The transition is also a sign that the DNC is becoming more closely tied to with Clinton, the party’s presumptive nominee.
Luis Miranda, the DNC communications director, said Wednesday that the transition is happening, in part, because “focused on building the infrastructure we need to help Democrats win up and down the ballot in November, including recruiting top former talent from the Clinton and Sanders primary to staff coordinated campaigns throughout the country.”
Once a primary campaign is over, the DNC and the winning campaign traditionally begin to work on coordinated campaigns in key states that allow the campaign and the Democratic committee to work together.
So far, Clinton’s campaign and the DNC have begun diverting money to coordinated campaigns in Florida, Wisconsin, Nevada, Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and North Carolina.
The campaigns are not expected to just help Clinton, though. Many of these battleground states also have key Senate and House races that Democrats hope to win in order to win majorities in both legislative bodies.
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