President Biden’s reelection campaign has hired a national Republican engagement director to help woo independents and moderate Republicans away from former President Trump in hopes of winning over a key voter base in the November election.
The Biden campaign has appointed Austin Weatherford, a former chief of staff to Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), a vocal critic of Trump, to the role. Weatherford, a Virginia native, will be tasked with reaching and directing funds to voters the Biden campaign says are being alienated by Trump.
Both Trump and Biden will need to work to win over independent voters, who are likely to decide the winner of the 2024 presidential election, especially in battleground states where polls show the candidates are neck and neck.
Former Republican candidate Nikki Haley of South Carolina announced last month that she would vote for Trump instead of Biden, dealing a blow to the Biden campaign, which has been working to win over her supporters since she dropped out of the race in March.
Haley’s supporters continued to cast significant numbers of ballots against Trump in Republican primaries, even after she dropped out of the race. Earlier this week, in the New Mexico Republican primary, roughly 15% of Republican voters cast ballots for either Haley, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R), or an “independent.”
Biden has argued that moderates, independents and those disappointed with the Democrats’ choices in November’s election belong to his camp, and is seeking to expand the Democratic coalition ahead of Election Day.
The Biden campaign launched ads in April targeting Haley’s supporters and highlighting Trump’s insults toward her and her supporters.
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