By STEVE PEOPLES (AP National Political Writer)
NEW YORK (AP) — In his attempt to win back the White House, a few states offer great potential for Donald Trump , and Michigan is one of them.
Trump won the state once before, but President Joe Biden, who won it back for the Democrats in 2020, is facing challenges there as he seeks re-election. Trump's campaign has promised an aggressive effort to win Michigan as part of a strong strategy for swing states. However, for now, it seems like these promises are just talk. The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee have not made substantial investments in the state for the general election, according to Michigan Republican Party Chairman Pete Hoekstra. The national committee has not sent money to the state party to support its operations leading up to the general election. There are no specific plans to attract voters of color, and there is no general election field staff in place. Pete Hoekstra said, “Right now, we have the basics, but we need to do much more.”
Republicans involved in campaign planning in other presidential battleground states report a similar situation.
Despite being highly praised for its professionalism and effectiveness during the primary phase of the 2024 election, Trump's political operation has been slow to shift focus to the general election after taking control of the Republican Party's national political machinery. In fact, the former president's team has reversed plans made by previous leaders to hire hundreds of staff and establish many new minority outreach centers in key states without providing a clear alternative.
In fact, six months before the first early votes are cast in the general election between Trump and Biden, the Republican Party has very little infrastructure for the general election.
Officials in key swing states are not panicking, but there is a noticeable difference compared to the Biden campaign. This month alone, Biden has opened 100 new offices and added over 350 new staffers in swing states from Arizona to Georgia to Pennsylvania, according to campaign spokesman Ammar Moussa. This is in addition to the existing battleground-state staff of 100 that the Democratic president already had in place. Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser for the Trump campaign who is now also leading operations at the RNC, declined to provide details about the Republican campaign's plans.
“By combining efforts, the Trump campaign and the RNC are mobilizing operations driven by passionate volunteers who are committed to saving America and removing Joe Biden,” he said. “However, we do not feel obligated to discuss the specifics of our strategy, timing, or tactics with members of the news media.”
Trump may be discussing strategy with some state Republican officials behind closed doors.
Hoekstra was one of a few Michigan Republican leaders who traveled to Florida last week to meet privately with Trump and members of his senior campaign team to discuss plans for the general election. According to Hoekstra, the conversation left him feeling positive about the former president's dedication to his state.
He said he's happy with the current situation and that the Trump team is involved.
Earlier this month, Trump replaced the Republican National Committee Chair.
Ronna McDaniel
with his new selected leadership team, including daughter-in-law Lara Trump, who is now RNC co-chair. LaCivita, who took over as the committee’s chief of staff, promised extensive changes in the GOP’s political infrastructure across the country.
In the days following, over 60 Republican staffers across the country received layoff notices. This included almost all the people who worked at the RNC’s minority outreach community centers and others within the committee’s department of State Parties Strategies.
Lara Trump said on David Webb’s SiriusXM Patriot channel program that there was not a strong connection between the Trump campaign and the RNC in the past, but now they are working together as one entity. She also mentioned that they have made significant cuts. Lara Trump faced resistance to some of the cuts and assured that the committee’s existing community centers would stay open. However, it’s uncertain whether Trump’s team will carry out McDaniel’s plans to open an additional 40 community centers in the next few months. The centers were important in improving the Republican Party’s connections with minority groups who usually vote Democratic but may be open to the GOP’s message. Advocates believe such investments have had a significant impact, especially in competitive House districts.
“It seems that there’s agreement that community centers are important for the Republican Party in general,” said Shawn Steel, an RNC member from California who credits a community center in Orange County’s Little Saigon with helping his wife, Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Calif., win her seat.
Shawn Steel, an RNC member from California, mentioned that Democrats have been effectively engaging with minority communities for over two centuries, and he feels optimistic about the Republican Party's efforts to catch up.
Despite the optimism, there is also a strong feeling of uncertainty as Trump’s team redoes the party’s 2024 battleground-state strategy after abandoning the previous plan.
Trump’s aides have delayed the plans to add hundreds of Republican staffers in presidential battleground states that were in place before McDaniel’s removal. This information comes from people with direct knowledge of the plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
It’s unclear whether or when the field staff will be in place. Staff who were laid off have started interviewing for new positions, but some have been told they may need to move to Florida or other states.
The Georgia GOP Chair Joshua McKoon has had several meetings with RNC leadership discussing “the deployment of additional resources” to his state, but there is no specific timeline.
McKoon stated that having enough staff to execute the get-out-the-vote plan is crucial for winning elections, and he expects to have further discussions about the timeline and more specifics in the near future.
He said, “I think we will get what we need.”
Aware of an increasing sense of urgency, the newly elected RNC Chair
Michael Whatley
sent a memo to party officials over the weekend pledging that the committee is “expanding on our current programs and broadening our outreach at the RNC.”
He promised to “re-establish America’s working voters,” continue to involve rural voters, and increase Trump’s support “with demographics who have not traditionally voted for our candidates…”
However, Whatley did not provide any specifics, except for mentioning a new battleground-state program that would instruct officials within the committee’s State Parties Strategies department to collaborate with “auxiliary Republican groups and other grassroots organizations” alongside state parties. When asked, Trump’s team did not clarify which grassroots organizations Whatley meant, although the chairman before his recent election had actively pursued leaders at Turning Point USA, a prominent group in Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement
that had been a driving force in McDaniel’s ouster.
On Tuesday, Lara Trump enthusiastically shared a social media post from Turning Point founder and CEO Charlie Kirk that spotlighted the group’s efforts to organize “full-time ballot chasers” in Arizona and other states by writing “Awesome!”
In the meantime, Biden’s campaign recently launched a $30 million six-week advertising blitz targeting swing-state voters, with a specific focus on Black and Hispanic-owned outlets and “culture and sports programming such as Comedy Central and ESPN. Biden is also intensifying his campaign efforts. He has campaigned in Pennsylvania, Georgia, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Michigan recently. He was in North Carolina on Tuesday, indicating the president’s ambition in a state that Trump narrowly won in 2020.
In contrast, Trump has
rarely been seen in public
this month aside from his court appearances.
Moussa, Biden’s spokesman, criticized Trump for adopting a general election strategy focused on “apparently hiding at his country club.”
“Meanwhile, the RNC dismisses staffers, closes community centers, and terminates their minority outreach programs. Not exactly the way to win the hearts and minds of the American people — or reach 270 electoral votes,” Moussa said. This story has been corrected to show the California congresswoman’s surname is Steel, not Steele. Trump has been slow to transition to the general election in the weeks following a hostile takeover of the GOP’s political machinery.
Moussa, Biden’s spokesman, slapped Trump for embracing a general election strategy focused on “apparently hiding at his country club.”
“Meanwhile, the RNC fires staffers, shutters community centers and shuts down their minority outreach programs. Not exactly how to win the hearts and minds of the American people — or get to 270 electoral votes,” Moussa said.
This story has been corrected to show the California congresswoman’s surname is Steel, not Steele.
