Democrats are planning to open 30 new offices across Michigan to bolster support for the party and President Joe Biden’s campaign for reelection in the crucial swing state.
According to the Detroit News, the offices should open by mid-April and will serve as organizing hubs for volunteers.
Lavora Barnes, chairwoman of the Michigan Democratic Party, said Democrats learned from the mistakes of 2016 in Hillary Clinton’s shocking loss to former President Donald Trump. She said they are organizing early in preparation.
“When a race is as close as we had it in 2016 and 2020, the ground game is the difference,” Barnes said.
Biden won Michigan in 2020 by 3 points, but the race was much closer in 2016 with Trump beating Clinton only by around 10,000 votes. Early polling shows Biden is lagging in the polls behind the former president in Michigan.
According to a February Bloomberg poll, Trump took the lead over Biden in Michigan 46% to 44%. Biden also faced an “uncommitted” challenge in Michigan for his policy of support for Israel. The “uncommitted” vote received more than 100,000 votes in Michigan’s primary, which has the largest Arab American population in the country.
The Trump campaign will visit Grand Rapids next week, his second stop to the Wolverine State this year.
At the state level, the Michigan GOP has experienced chaos in a battle for party control between newly elected state GOP Chairman Pete Hoekstra and ousted former Chairwoman Kristina Karamo over who is truly in charge of the party. Hoekstra’s team has struggled to take control of the party’s website and X page.
Democrats, in their announcement to open the offices, said Republicans have not yet opened any offices in Michigan. Mike Frosolone, Biden’s Michigan campaign manager, said the Trump campaign has “no visible strategy in Michigan.”
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Chris LaCivita, a Trump campaign senior adviser, said they are keeping their strategies under wraps.
“With an operation fueled by hundreds of thousands of small dollar donors and energized supporters, and without sharing our strategy with Democrats through the media, we have the message, the operation and the money to propel President Trump to victory on Nov. 5,” LaCivita said.
