Less than eight months away from the election and former President Donald Trump’s campaign does not have a field staff in place in Michigan, a key battleground state.
In addition, Trump has not transferred any money to the state to help bolster operations.
“We’ve got the skeleton right now,” Michigan Republican Party Chairman Pete Hoekstra said. “We’re going to have to put more meat on it.”
Despite the lack of funds, Hoekstra, who had a private meeting with Trump, says he feels good with where they are.
“The Trump team is engaged,” Hoekstra told the Associated Press.
In another battleground state, Georgia GOP Chairman Joshua McKoon, who has met with RNC leadership, says there is no set time frame for the deployment of additional resources.
“What wins elections is having the staff necessary to carry out your get-out-the-vote plan, so that’s what I’m most interested in,” McKoon told the Associated Press. “I certainly expect to have further discussions in the very near future about the timeline and having some more specifics.”
In addition to firing former Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and 60 staffers of the Republican campaigning arm, Trump has rolled back plans to add hundreds of staff and dozens of minority outreach centers, which were seen as a crucial resource to bolster relationships with minorities. Many RNC members, including new Co-chairwoman Lara Trump, have made statements affirming their commitment to opening these centers.
This comes as the Biden campaign has opened 100 new offices and added more than 350 new staffers in swing states this month alone, according to campaign spokesman Ammar Moussa.
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“Meanwhile, the RNC fires staffers, shutters community centers, and shuts down their minority outreach programs. Not exactly how to win the hearts and minds of the American people — or get to 270 electoral votes,” Moussa told the outlet.
Their tactics appear to be working, as polling shows Biden gaining on Trump in six battleground states.
