{"id":2343227,"date":"2024-09-19T07:21:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T11:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ground-game-grumbles-questions-about-trump-turnout-machine-abound-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-09-19T07:22:50","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T11:22:50","slug":"ground-game-grumbles-questions-about-trump-turnout-machine-abound-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ground-game-grumbles-questions-about-trump-turnout-machine-abound-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Ground game grumbles: Questions about Trump turnout machine abound &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fground-game-grumbles-questions-about-trump-turnout-machine-abound-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2343227&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses concerns about Donald Trump&#8217;s ground game strategy as he \u200bcampaigns for the 2024\u2063 presidential election. Prior to \u200cJoe Biden&#8217;s exit \u2063from the race, Democrats believed his traditional ground game\u200b could outperform Trump&#8217;s unconventional approach. With Vice \u2062President Kamala Harris now actively competing in battleground states, Republicans are increasingly anxious about Trump&#8217;s campaign\u200d strategy. \u200cProminent voices in the GOP have acknowledged\u200b that Trump&#8217;s efforts to organize door-to-door \u2063outreach \u2064and engage\u200c infrequent \u2063voters\u2062 seem insufficient, \u200bleading\u200d to \u200cfears that\u200b they\u200d are not doing enough to mobilize supporters.<\/p>\n<p>Some Republican strategists have expressed doubt about the effectiveness of\u200b Trump&#8217;s newly \u200dintroduced get-out-the-vote plans, citing challenges in coordinating outreach. There are \u2062discussions about whether the party is prioritizing voter \u2063turnout over issues of election integrity. \u200cTrump has\u200b outsourced parts of his ground game to\u200c external groups, such as\u2064 Elon Musk&#8217;s\u200d super PAC and other organizations, rather than depending on his own campaign or the Republican \u2063National Committee. <\/p>\n<p>The piece \u2063highlights the\u2064 critical role that non-college-educated white voters played in Trump&#8217;s earlier\u200c success, suggesting that increasing their turnout\u200c could\u2064 be pivotal for\u200c winning \u2063key states. However, there\u2063 are\u2064 concerns \u200damong Republicans \u2062that \u200dthey are overstretched, trying to compete in more states than previously assumed, potentially \u200dleading \u2064to vulnerabilities. the article reflects a tense atmosphere within the GOP as they prepare for a \u200b<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/third-party-candidates-who-have-derailed-past-presidential-campaigns\/\" title=\"Third-party candidates who disrupted previous presidential races.\">closely \u200ccontested election<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Ground game grumbles: Questions about Trump turnout machine abound<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1763869\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Before President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Joe Biden<\/a> ended his reelection bid, his loyalists held on to one last hope: that he could keep the race close enough that his more traditional ground game could outperform former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Donald Trump<\/a>&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3123349\/trump-harris-ground-game-strategy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>unconventional one<\/a> in the Rust Belt, eking out an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/electoral-college\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Electoral College<\/a> majority and a second term.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Most senior Democrats concluded that it was more likely that Biden would put Virginia, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and perhaps even New Jersey in play than pull off this trifecta no matter how good his get-out-the-vote operations were, so he was replaced with Vice President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kamala-harris\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Kamala Harris<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Now that Harris is, unlike Biden, actively competing in all seven battleground states, the hand-wringing over Trump&rsquo;s ground game has resumed.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s unproven,&rdquo; a cautiously optimistic Republican strategist told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The only group I&rsquo;m aware of that is actually knocking on doors in Georgia for Trump is [Elon Musk&rsquo;s] America PAC,&rdquo; influential conservative commentator Erick Erickson, who lives in the state, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/EWErickson\/status\/1836411580197560825\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>wrote<\/a> on X Wednesday. &ldquo;I know at least a dozen people in different parts of the state who have had someone at their house.&nbsp;No other groups have made contact with those voters.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>This echoes what a person <em>Semafor <\/em>described as a &ldquo;Republican operative who votes in a swing state&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.semafor.com\/article\/09\/09\/2024\/donald-trumps-unconventional-ground-game-is-making-republicans-nervous\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>told<\/a> the outlet in a story published earlier this month: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m as plugged in as they get &mdash; and yet I don&rsquo;t even know who my friends and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-passes-debt-ceiling-extension-increase\/\" title=\"House passes debt ceiling extension, increase\">family back home<\/a> can contact for a yard sign or to knock doors in their precinct.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The <em>New York Times <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/09\/17\/us\/politics\/elon-musk-donald-trump-super-pac.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>reported<\/a> on Tuesday that the Musk super PAC ditched the canvassing firm it had hired to turn out Republicans and Trump voters in the swing states of Arizona and Nevada at this late date.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>NBC News <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2024-election\/trump-campaign-big-bet-new-gotv-strategy-worries-republicans-rcna170516\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>reported<\/a> on Republican disagreements over a strategy to try to turn out low-propensity voters who have skipped out on previous elections when the GOP underperformed but are supportive of Trump this year.<\/p>\n<p>The outlet&rsquo;s Allan Smith, Matt Dixon, Henry Gomez, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/author\/katherine-doyle\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Katherine Doyle<\/a> write that &ldquo;Trump&rsquo;s campaign thinks its new get-out-the-vote strategy will serve as a silver bullet to capture key battleground states. But increasingly concerned Republicans fear the Trump team is firing blanks.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Finally, there has been no shortage of debate about whether Republicans are focused enough on mobilization and turnout compared to election integrity efforts.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If it is going to be close, by the way, if it is a razor-thin close election, I&rsquo;m pretty sure Kamala will win because they will cheat,&rdquo; Trump-adjacent billionaire Peter Thiel, a close ally of vice presidential nominee Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jd-vance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>J.D. Vance <\/a>(R-OH), <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/theallinpod\/status\/1834676843884298625?t=63\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said recently<\/a> at an <em>All-In <\/em>podcast event. &ldquo;They will cheat. They will fortify it. They will steal the ballots.&rdquo; (Thiel nevertheless predicted that &ldquo;Trump is going to win and probably will win by a big margin,&rdquo; improving on his 2020 showing.)<\/p>\n<p>In a&nbsp;nutshell, Trump&rsquo;s team has outsourced much of its ground game to outside groups like Musk&rsquo;s super PAC, Turning Point Action, and America First Works rather than relying primarily on its own staff and the Republican National Committee. They are looking to get infrequent voters to the polls as well, a group that a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/09\/08\/us\/politics\/trump-and-harris-times-siena-poll.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><em>New York Times<\/em>-Siena College poll<\/a> found backed Trump over Harris by 9 points.<\/p>\n<p>Goosing noncollege white voter turnout alone could help swing battleground states toward Trump. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s say Trump makes smaller gains among minorities but increases voter turnout among non<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nbc-panics-over-a-lot-more-bad-polling-for-democrats\/\" title=\"NBC Panics Over A lot more Bad Polling for Democrats\">-college-educated whites<\/a>. He&rsquo;d win the Electoral College even while losing the popular vote by about a point,&rdquo; Republican strategist Ryan Girdusky wrote in his <a href=\"https:\/\/natpop.substack.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>newsletter<\/a> this week. &ldquo;And even if he didn&rsquo;t win a single new minority voter but pushed non-college-educated whites to vote as often as college-educated whites, he&rsquo;d still have a massive Electoral College victory.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Such voters were critical to Trump&rsquo;s victory in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>But when some of these plans were originally hatched, the electoral map was smaller. In this summer&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/politics\/archive\/2024\/07\/trump-campain-election-2024-susie-wiles-chris-lacivita\/678806\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><em>Atlantic<\/em> interview<\/a> with the operatives running Trump&rsquo;s 2024 bid, co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita was said to believe there were four true battleground states rather than seven. &ldquo;He said the campaign feels confident, based on public and private polling, as well as its own internal modeling, that Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina are moving out of reach for Biden,&rdquo; the magazine reported, quoting a former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mitt-romney\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Romney<\/a> 2012 campaign adviser as saying Team Trump was &ldquo;basically running four or five Senate races.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>After Biden dropped out, Harris put these Sun Belt states back in play. Among the concerns Republicans have is being spread too thin against her staffing and financial advantages. Yet the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/elections\/president\/2024\/battleground-states\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><em>RealClearPolitics <\/em>polling average<\/a> has her ahead by just 0.1 points in the top battleground states, which Biden only won by 0.2 points after Trump outperformed his poll numbers for the second straight presidential election four years ago.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>With the Teamsters <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3158467\/teamsters-members-back-trump-over-harris\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>declining to endorse<\/a> Harris amid <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/3158680\/teamsters-poll-democrats-working-class-problem\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>rank-and-file support for Trump<\/a>, it&rsquo;s possible some voters the Democrats try to turn out end up pulling the lever for the former president instead. But Republicans don&rsquo;t want to bet the election on that.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;What they are doing could work,&rdquo; a Republican strategist said of Trump&rsquo;s approach. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just awfully risky.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1763869\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1763869\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ground Game Concerns: Doubts Surround Trump&#8217;s Turnout Strategy<\/p>\n<p>Before President Joe Biden officially withdrew from his reelection campaign, his supporters clung to a final hope: that he could maintain a competitive race, allowing his more conventional ground game to surpass former President Donald Trump\u2019s unorthodox approach in the Rust Belt and secure an Electoral College majority for a second term. Senior Democrats largely believed it was more feasible for Biden to contest states like Virginia, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and possibly New Jersey than to achieve this goal regardless of how effective his voter mobilization efforts were. Consequently, Vice President Kamala Harris took over the campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Now that Harris is actively engaging in all seven battleground states\u2014unlike Biden\u2014the scrutiny of Trump\u2019s ground game has intensified. A cautiously optimistic Republican strategist expressed concerns about its effectiveness to the Washington Examiner. Influential conservative commentator Erick Erickson noted on X that the only group currently canvassing for Trump in Georgia is Elon Musk&#8217;s America PAC, mentioning he knows several individuals who have been visited by canvassers but no other groups have reached out.<\/p>\n<p>This sentiment aligns with what a Republican operative from a swing state shared with Semafor earlier this month: despite being well-connected, they are unaware of any local contacts for yard signs or door-knocking efforts. The New York Times reported recently that Musk&#8217;s super PAC had abandoned its canvassing firm aimed at mobilizing Republicans and Trump supporters in key swing states like Arizona and Nevada at such a late stage.<\/p>\n<p>NBC News highlighted internal disagreements among Republicans regarding strategies to engage low-propensity voters who previously abstained from elections when the GOP struggled but are now supportive of Trump. Their report indicated that while Trump&#8217;s campaign believes its new voter turnout strategy will effectively capture crucial battlegrounds, many concerned Republicans fear it may not yield results.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, there has been ongoing debate about whether Republicans are prioritizing voter mobilization adequately compared to their focus on election integrity issues. Peter Thiel\u2014a billionaire aligned with Trump&#8217;s camp\u2014recently suggested during an All-In podcast event that if the election is close, he believes Harris would win due to potential cheating tactics employed by Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>In essence, Trump&#8217;s team has largely delegated much of its ground game responsibilities to external organizations such as Musk&#8217;s super PAC and others rather than relying primarily on their own staff or the Republican National Committee. They aim to increase turnout among infrequent voters; recent polling indicates these voters favor Trump over Harris by 9 points.<\/p>\n<p>Boosting turnout among non-college-educated white voters could significantly influence battleground states&#8217; outcomes in favor of Trump. Republican strategist Ryan Girdusky noted that even modest gains among minority groups combined with increased participation from non-college-educated whites could lead him to win the Electoral College while losing the popular vote narrowly\u2014a scenario reminiscent of 2016 when these demographics were pivotal for Trump&#8217;s victory.<\/p>\n<p>However, initial plans were based on fewer battlegrounds; Chris LaCivita\u2014co-campaign manager for Trump&#8217;s 2024 effort\u2014previously identified only four true competitive states instead of seven based on polling data suggesting Georgia and North Carolina might be slipping away from Biden&#8217;s reach after Harris re-entered those contests post-Biden\u2019s exit.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans express concern about being overstretched against her staffing advantages despite current polls showing her leading by just 0.1 points across major battlegrounds\u2014a narrow margin similar to Biden&#8217;s previous wins where he outperformed expectations two elections ago against Trump.<\/p>\n<p>With labor unions like Teamsters withholding support for Harris amid grassroots backing for Trump within their ranks\u2014it remains uncertain whether some targeted Democratic voters might ultimately choose former President Donald instead; however Republicans prefer not leaving their fate solely dependent on such dynamics as they acknowledge potential risks associated with Trump&#8217;s strategy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2659,"featured_media":2343228,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Trump-SAVE-Act.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[3728,32114,3634,20009,32076],"class_list":["post-2343227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-election","tag-ground-game","tag-trump","tag-turnout","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Trump-SAVE-Act.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2343227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2343227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2343227\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2343228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2343227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2343227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2343227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}