A week to go, and I am constantly going back and forth about what I think is going to happen in this election. I just told a friend earlier today that I am hoping for the best but expecting the worst because I don't want to be blindsided like many of us were in 2020.
Earlier today, I explained that we shouldn't count on the polls being biased against Trump this year. That isn't necessarily a sign that Donald Trump is going to lose, but it tells us that this election is likely a coin flip — that the campaigns' ground games will determine on Election Day.
There are a lot of reasons to feel confident — even if you shouldn't take the election for granted. As we previously reported, the Harris-Walz campaign may be pulling resources from North Carolina and scaling back media buys, shifting those efforts to Virginia, of all places.
If true, this means that instead of expanding her map or adding new paths to the needed 270 Electoral College votes, Kamala is forced to defend a reliably blue state in the final week of the campaign. That’s a huge deal — if it’s accurate. If this is indeed the case, the Harris-Walz team now must sweep the “blue wall” states to win the election, yet it isn’t even moving those resources to those blue wall states.
However, the Trump campaign is more confident in its position. "With just one week until Election Day, the Trump-Vance campaign is not only looking to shore up their support in the all-important swing states, but also seeking to expand the electoral map," reports the Daily Signal. "The former president will continue to hold large rallies—the trademark of his three campaigns—stretching across the Sunbelt from Nevada to North Carolina and Rust Belt states from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin."
Recommended: Think the Polls Are Undercounting Trump’s Support? Here’s Why You Shouldn’t.
Meanwhile, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) will be campaigning in Michigan to appeal to voters as early voting begins in the state. Vance will hold two rallies on Tuesday, starting in Saginaw, where he’ll focus on issues relevant to Michigan’s automotive industry to attract support for the Republican ticket amidst Democratic discord in the state.
I know what you're thinking: We already know those are battleground states. Indeed, but on Halloween, Trump will head to Albuquerque, N.M., and on Saturday, he’ll stop in Salem, Va.
“Harris has turned every state, including Virginia, into a border state,” the Trump campaign said in a statement. “In Virginia alone, since July, a grandmother was tragically murdered by an illegal immigrant in a brutal carjacking; a Bolivian illegal migrant was convicted of sex crimes against a child; a Salvadoran illegal immigrant was arrested for horrific child abuse; and a Peruvian illegal immigrant abducted a high school student.”
There are plenty of reasons why Virginia appears to be a long shot since Kamala currently leads in the public polls in the state, but there are also signs that it could surprise us on Election Day. The fact that her campaign is shifting resources there from North Carolina tells us that it is concerned as well.
According to a spokesperson for Virginia’s Republican Party, “polling and reports” indicate that Virginia is competitive for Trump and GOP candidates across the ballot. The spokesperson added that Virginians are frustrated with “high inflation, unsecure border, and chaos overseas” under the Biden-Harris administration.
There have also been reports that the Trump campaign is putting resources into New Hampshire. In short, the Trump campaign is acting confident; the Harris campaign is not.
