Republican activists in swing states are expressing concerns about the lack of presence of teams tasked with knocking on doors and turning out infrequent voters on behalf of Donald Trump. Instead of relying on traditional campaign operations, Trump has chosen to share get-out-the-vote duties with groups supported by billionaire Elon Musk. With less than 50 days until the election, many officials and activists in states like Michigan and North Carolina have not seen the canvassers from America PAC, the organization backed by Musk, in action.
Trump’s campaign is focused on turning out less likely voters, particularly in crucial swing states like Michigan where he narrowly lost in 2020. Despite claims that there are volunteers and paid canvassers working to identify and reach out to these voters, some party activists are questioning the effectiveness of the operation. The campaign views the race as a toss-up among likely voters but believes it has an edge among those who did not vote in 2016 and 2020, making the outreach efforts even more critical.
While America PAC claims to have canvassers in states like Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, reports from activists and party officials have been scarce. Trump’s campaign political director estimates that there are close to 2,500 paid canvassers, with America PAC playing a significant role. The campaign insists that they are utilizing the resources of these outside groups to enhance their ground efforts in reaching low-propensity voters.
Both Trump’s campaign and groups supporting Vice President Kamala Harris are utilizing canvassing efforts to reach out to voters, with a focus on turning out less likely voters. Harris’ campaign is leading the ground efforts in the seven states with paid staff and volunteers. However, the majority of the outside groups supporting Harris are focused on advertising, outspending Trump’s campaign in this area. America PAC and other groups helping Trump have faced complications, such as firing a canvassing company in Nevada, highlighting challenges in utilizing outside groups for campaign operations.
Delegating campaign duties to outside groups is not a new strategy, with previous candidates like Ron DeSantis and Jeb Bush attempting similar approaches. However, these arrangements have not always been successful, as seen with DeSantis’ challenges in his presidential campaign and Bush’s struggles in the 2016 Republican primary. The use of outside groups for canvassing efforts by the Trump campaign raises questions about the effectiveness and coordination of these operations. As the election draws closer, the impact of relying on external organizations for crucial campaign tasks remains uncertain.
