Toward the end of Maggie and Shane’s article, they report that Trump campaign officials told donors that the 2024 race has only three swing states: Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
But Trump campaign officials also showed donors an “expanded reality” map that included Minnesota and Virginia, neither of which has received much attention this year.
First, maybe they’ve polled and really see something in those states; the electoral map can change, as when Democrats won Georgia in 2020.
Second, sometimes campaigns will spend money in less apparently competitive states primarily to require opponents to divert resources from a more competitive state.
As time has gone on, though, voter enthusiasm for that social conservatism seems to have waned, as Jamelle Bouie has argued.
Persons:
Maggie, it’s, Glenn Youngkin, Trump, Bouie
Organizations:
Trump, Democrats, Georgia
Locations:
Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, Virginia