Trump’s 2024 Arizona field operation is a shadow of his 2020 campaign. Here's what to know

Former President Donald Trump and the GOP’s campaign presence in the must-win state of Arizona is a shadow of what it was at the same time in 2020.

In February 2020, the Arizona Republican Party had upwards of 60 people on its payroll, according to federal campaign finance records. State parties usually play a major role in organizing field campaigning efforts, including for the presidential race.

At the same time this year, nine months ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election, that number was in single digits. Arizona’s GOP had six people on their payroll in February, finance records show. Trump's campaign has hired an Arizona state director, Pat Aquilina, who is receiving a salary directly through the campaign, and hasn't publicly announced any other campaign hires in the state.

By comparison, Arizona Democrats opened their first field office last year, and will have eight offices open by the end of March, according to Sean McEnerney, who is managing the Democrats' coordinated efforts in Arizona. The coordinated campaign has hired 19 full-time staff members, and there are 15 more full-time employees working for the state party, per McEnerney.

As one of several states seen as competitive, Arizona could single-handedly decide the next occupant of the White House. In 2020, President Joe Biden won Arizona by a margin of around 10,000 votes, fewer than the average number of fans at a Major League Baseball game.

The disparity comes as Trump's campaign and the GOP are facing cash crunches on several fronts.

Legal bills from Trump's mounting court challenges, plus verdicts against the former president on defamation and fraud, have now cost him millions of dollars. He has paid for those expenses largely using campaign funds.

The national GOP's finances also are down compared to the last presidential election cycle. The Republican National Committee entered 2024 with one-tenth of the inflation-adjusted dollars it had four years ago, according to a HuffPost analysis.

Trump campaign advisers publicly have said they are taking steps to cut unnecessary costs. During the 2020 election cycle, Trump's campaign quickly spent millions of dollars towards the beginning of the election year and then had to tighten their belts closer to the November election.

Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign who is also working with the RNC, declined to discuss the campaign's field operations in a written statement to The Arizona Republic.

"By combining forces and operations, The Trump campaign and RNC are deploying operations that are fueled by passionate volunteers who care about saving America and firing Joe Biden," LaCivita wrote. "We do not feel obligated however to discuss the specifics of our strategy, timing and tactics with members of the News Media."

Trump's finances reportedly have factored into his travel decisions, too. He had been considering making a trip to Arizona in March, CNN has reported, but he scrapped those plans to save money and to attend a different event in Ohio.

Previously, he had called off a rally in January amid controversy surrounding Senate candidate Kari Lake’s dramatic ousting of the former Arizona GOP Chair Jeff DeWit.

Arizona has been one of the former president’s more frequent campaign destinations in the past. He visited the state seven times during his 2016 run for president, seven more times while running for president in 2020, and several times since he left office in early 2021, according to an Arizona Republic tally.

Laura Gersony covers national politics for the Arizona Republic. Contact her at lgersony@gannett.com or 480-372-0389.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Trump’s Arizona field operation so far a shadow of his 2020 campaign