Biden campaign to start in-person voter outreach as U.S. election nears

[webfact]

Biden campaign to start in-person voter outreach as U.S. election nears

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Michael Martina

 

Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Joe Biden answers a question from an attendee as he speaks at an outdoor "Black Economic Summit" while campaigning for president in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S., September 23, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

 

(Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's campaign said on Thursday it would launch an in-person voter-canvassing operation in several battleground states, shifting tactics in the final weeks of a race upended by the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Some of Biden's Democratic allies have expressed concern the campaign has been too cautious about getting boots on the ground for voter mobilization in the states that will decide the Nov. 3 election.

 

The campaign had put safety first in light of the pandemic, choosing to forgo door-knocking in favor of remote contacts even though President Donald Trump's campaign has been running an extensive in-person effort.

 

But in coming days, the Biden team will send several hundred volunteers to Nevada, Michigan, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania to focus on contacting voters who may be difficult to reach by phone or computer, with plans to expand the effort to more states ahead of the election.

 

"We’re now expanding on our strategy in a targeted way that puts the safety of communities first and foremost and helps us mobilize voters who are harder to reach by phone now that we're in the final stretch," said Biden’s campaign manager, Jen O’Malley Dillon, who had dismissed criticism of Democratic field organizing.

 

Democratic allies worried the lack of an in-person ground game could be a misstep given the close margins in several battleground states that helped the Republican Trump narrowly defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.

 

"Trump's running a full-blown get-out-the-damn-vote operation and the Democrats are doing a virtual get-out-the-vote effort by Zoom," said Brad Crone, an independent political consultant in North Carolina. "There's a world of difference."

 

Some Biden supporters in Florida – a huge prize with 29 electoral votes – also have been uneasy about the campaign's quiet presence there, particularly with recent polling in the state showing Trump making gains with crucial Latino voting groups. On his first campaign trip of the year to the state last month, Biden barely interacted with voters.

 

"We need to door-knock," said Jose Parra, a Florida-based strategist who heads the Hispanic-focused communications group Prospero Latino. "Even if it only manages to move 10,000 votes, that could be the difference in a state as close as Florida."

 

Both Florida and North Carolina are among states that will see an expanded voter-canvassing operation in coming weeks, according to a person familiar with the matter.

 

RAMPING UP SCHEDULE

The Biden campaign maintained that its remote outreach was engaging voters and had already resumed dropping pamphlets at homes.

 

Biden has consistently led Trump in national opinion polls, although the race is closer in the battleground states. Other indicators show Biden and Democrats generating momentum as voters begin to cast early and mail-in ballots.

 

A Reuters/Ipsos poll in late September found 82% of registered Democrats and 81% of registered Republicans were "completely certain" they would vote, eliminating a traditional enthusiasm gap favoring Republicans.

 

Spurred by opposition to Trump, a record-breaking surge of fundraising by Biden has also buoyed Democratic hopes for November. In August, Biden and the national Democratic Party outraised Trump and the Republicans by $364.5 million to $210 million, translating into a blitz of television advertising.

 

Biden has begun to crank up his campaign schedule. The former vice president last week made his first trip of the general election to North Carolina, where polls show a dead heat with Trump, who racked up five visits there in a month's time between late August and late September.

 

Biden and his wife, Jill, took a train trip through Ohio and western Pennsylvania on Wednesday after the debate in Cleveland, the kind of multi-stop battleground-state tour that some of his backers had pushed.

 

Trump’s campaign, which for months has knocked on doors and hosted large rallies, often over the objections of local elected officials and public health experts, said its rival's efforts were too little, too late.

 

"You can’t just parachute in a month before the election and hope to make up ground," Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said.

 

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in New York, Michael Martina in Detroit and John Whitesides in Washington; Writing by John Whitesides; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-10-02

 

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[TopDeadSenter]

Never seen such a low energy, low enthusiasm campaign as this Biden/Harris disaster. His opponent has huge crowds lining up to see him even at short notice. Biden events are empty, and the 2 or 3 people milling around are almost certainly staffers. Quite embarrassing to be honest. Starting to try connecting with voters at the 11th hour smacks of desperation. 

[Tug]

8 minutes ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Never seen such a low energy, low enthusiasm campaign as this Biden/Harris disaster. His opponent has huge crowds lining up to see him even at short notice. Biden events are empty, and the 2 or 3 people milling around are almost certainly staffers. Quite embarrassing to be honest. Starting to try connecting with voters at the 11th hour smacks of desperation. 

You do know there’s a deadly pandemic don’t you One of the candidates wouldent knowingly expose Americans or foreigners for that matter to this deadly scourge we all know who that one is and btw trump is getting spanked in the polls the only way trump can stay in power is to cheat and suppress voters 

[Chomper Higgot]

Cash donations are flooding into Biden’s campaign from individual citizens, the hour after ‘debate’ saw a massive surge in donations. Biden’s campaign has the funds and the support to step up their campaigning.

 

Trump’s campaign is running out of cash and pulling TV advertising from swing states - Perhaps Brad Pascal can shed some light on where the money went.

[Boon Mee]

Way too little and too late. 

Biden is toast. ???? 

[Eric Loh]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

Trump’s campaign, which for months has knocked on doors and hosted large rallies, often over the objections of local elected officials and public health experts, said its rival's efforts were too little, too late.

Evidently clear that the carefully planned 'follow CDC guidance' Biden's campaign is now paying off at this crucial last stage of the campaign leading to the election. With Trump incapacity for 10 days and maybe more and his condition thereafter may not be the same, his campaign has now screeched to an abrupt stop. Also his supporters who believe Trump's claim that the virus is a hoax will be reeling in doubt of his credibility. Meanwhile the Biden's train is chugging along fine towards the finish line. 

[Lokie]

Really this Joe Biden is running for POUS, he would be hard pressed to run for a bus...? Seems a nice old man who should have retired years ago the lady is switched on though, maybe they would have been better having her lead with the old timer as her running mate reckon she could look good on the stage opposite the Donald and capitalise on his weaknesses.

 

Dont worry Im a Brit & the clowns we have in charge are akin to Monty Python's Flying Circus... 

[spidermike007]

Biden will win regardless. But if they engaged in massive outreach, it would help. All they need to do is focus on Latin and Black voters. That is it. They already have 95% of the sensible white voters. 

[Tie Dye Samurai]

On 10/1/2020 at 6:27 PM, TopDeadSenter said:

Never seen such a low energy, low enthusiasm campaign as this Biden/Harris disaster. His opponent has huge crowds lining up to see him even at short notice. Biden events are empty, and the 2 or 3 people milling around are almost certainly staffers. Quite embarrassing to be honest. Starting to try connecting with voters at the 11th hour smacks of desperation. 

Gee Top Dead, how do you feel about your hero and his Coronapalooza events now that The Maskless Wonder is in the hospital and seems to have taken the entire West Wing into quarantine. Something tells me your boy is listening to science and doctors now....that's what is actually smacking of desperation...guess whose events are ACTUALLY empty now?

 

Here's to Top Dead and his idol's HUGE CROWDS and no masks...*sigh*

Edited October 3, 2020 by Tie Dye Samurai