Trump is scaling back his campaign in three states he was just targeting — a sign of how Harris has changed the race
With just two months to go until Election Day, former President Donald Trump is refocusing his campaign as his opponent and Vice President Kamala Harris appears to gain favor among voters.
Trump is reportedly "scaling back his campaigning in three states he was targeting just six weeks ago, a sign of how Kamala Harris' rise in the polls has shifted the dynamics of the presidential race," political reporter Sophia Cai wrote for Axios.
The report indicates the Trump campaign "is placing less emphasis on New Hampshire, Minnesota and Virginia" in favor of "pouring resources" into swing states Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Trump is also turning his attention to other states "where he had significant polling leads before Harris made them competitive," including North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada, Cai reported.
"In North Carolina, for example, the campaign and MAGA Inc., a supporting super PAC, have spent more than $16 million on ads — a sign they're taking Harris' prospects there seriously," Cai wrote.
Is the shifting strategy a sign that Trump's campaign thinks his path to the White House is narrowing? Not a chance, according to Rachel Reisner, Trump's battleground states director.
"Team Trump continues to build out the most robust and modern ground game ever," Reisner told Axios. "Our team is only expanding — we have new staff, offices and volunteers weekly — with more enthusiasm, energy and support from people and states Democrats take for granted."
Still, Axios points out that "it's a stark contrast from late July, when Trump came rolling out of the Republican convention in Milwaukee with what looked like a glide path to winning back the White House."
But that changed when President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and since then, Harris has been climbing in national polls.
A Suffolk University/USA TODAY poll taken immediately after the Democratic National Convention, shows Harris has overtaken Trump 47.6% to 43.3%. That's an eight-point turnaround from a June poll taken right after the Biden-Trump debate, in which Trump led Biden 41.4% to 37.5%. The poll also shows 90% of voters have their minds "firmly made up," another 8% "might change" before the election and the rest are undecided.
Another poll from Emerson College shows Harris with 49% support and Trump with 47% support among likely voters. Three percent are undecided, and 1% plan to vote for someone else.
When it comes to battleground states, polling by CNN/SSRS shows Harris with the advantage in Wisconsin (50% to 44%) and Michigan (48% to 43%), while Trump has the edge in Arizona (49% to 44%). The two are neck-and-neck in Georgia and Nevada (48% Harris to 47% Trump) and tied in Pennsylvania at 47%.
