The Trump campaign is relying on an untested get-out-the-vote tactic ahead of the November election that some Republicans see as risky but with high rewards.
The Trump campaign has been working with outside groups, including one backed by Elon Musk, to beef up local efforts to register and cast ballots among less-engaged voters who may not be among the former president's most ardent supporters — marking a shift from past election cycles in which the Republican National Committee led the get-out-the-vote effort.
Campaign officials argued the change would allow Republicans to reach voters more effectively, focusing on a demographic that might not necessarily support a particular candidate in November's election, but even some supporters aren't so sure the change will work.
“I'm very concerned about the get-out-the-vote efforts on the Republican side,” said a Republican strategist who supports former President Trump. “They've done a much better job of legal challenges than they did in 2020. What I'm a little concerned about is get-out-the-vote efforts, which they're trying to do differently, kind of outsource to other groups.”
This strategy differs from past campaigns both operationally and strategically.
Operationally, the Federal Election Commission allows campaigns to work closely with outside groups. Opinion released in MarchThe Trump campaign has taken advantage of this shift, using groups such as the Musk-backed Save America PAC and Turning Point USA, as well as other organizations that conduct door-to-door canvassing and other get-out-the-vote outreach, whose field workers are paid by these groups, allowing the Trump campaign to divert funds elsewhere.
A Trump campaign official told The Hill that strategically the campaign is focusing on low- and moderate-income voters who are known to support the former president.
While Republicans have tried to reach as many voters as possible in past elections, the Trump 2024 campaign plans to skip canvassing if the person is already likely to support the former president.
“They have a plan. The question is whether it works,” said Sean Spicer, who served as White House press secretary during Trump's first term. “An effective ground campaign is worth two to three points, and all of these battleground states are within two to three points.”
Semaphore reported Former Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told allies the party wasn't doing enough on the ground, according to the people. McDaniel resigned in the middle of the Republican primary earlier this year, paving the way for Trump and his allies to overhaul the party's leadership.
Some of the groups working with the Trump campaign have also come under scrutiny.
Authorities in North Carolina and Michigan announced in August they were investigating Musk's Save America PAC over potential violations related to the collection of personal information.
A Turning Point Action spokesperson told Semaphore that the group has fallen short of its lofty goal of spending more than $100 million on voter outreach programs, but that it will focus its programs more on voters in the battleground states of Arizona and Wisconsin.
Trump campaign officials were criticized for not doing enough groundwork to win the 2016 presidential election, and in 2020, despite Biden's victory,Refuse to knock on the doorIn the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“One of the big problems is people don't understand it,” the official said of the strategy, which he said was based on lessons learned from the 2020 election campaign.
“We have pursued the strategy that we believe is best given the environment we find ourselves in, the resources we have and the opportunities that existed before us,” the official added.
The official also noted that Republicans have narrowed their gap in registered voters over Democrats in key battleground states such as Nevada and Pennsylvania, which could be a sign of Republican strength on the ground.
Voting efforts are expected to be especially important this year, with polls showing close races in all seven battleground states that could determine the winner of the White House.
Strategists said ground-up efforts in states could be crucial as both sides try to win over their bases and boost turnout among thousands of less-willing voters who could decide the outcome in states such as Georgia, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
“Democrats are so good at talking about how many offices they have and all that, but at the end of the day it's not about how many offices they have, it's about, 'Can we get rid of my supporters by any means necessary?'” Spicer said. “Whether it's a piece of mail delivered or someone knocking on the door.”
The Harris campaign has long touted its superior infrastructure on the ground compared to the Trump campaign, pointing to the dozens of offices the Democratic Party has in battleground states and the hundreds of thousands of volunteers who have registered since Vice President Harris replaced President Biden as the Democratic candidate's top candidate.
A Harris campaign official said that in the roughly two months since she entered the race, volunteers and organizers have made more than 13 million calls and conducted nearly 600,000 door-to-door canvassing in Pennsylvania, Arizona and Nevada alone.
A spokesman for the Harris campaign did not respond to a request for comment for further details about the get-out-the-vote effort.
With about 40 days until Election Day and early voting underway in several states, Harris' allies are warning people not to become complacent.
“She needs to get her team out of the fray and do more door-to-door canvassing. And certainly there are small numbers of people in certain states that she needs to reach out to, and they don't live in urban areas,” former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile told ABC. “They live in the suburbs, in the rural areas. She needs to go to them in person.”
