Why Trump is making last-minute stops ahead of Election Day in two blue-leaning states

During the last week starring up to Election Day connected Nov. 5, erstwhile President Trump is making 2 little detours from campaigning successful the important 7 battleground states that volition apt find if the Republican nominee oregon Vice President Kamala Harris wins the 2024 election.

On Thursday, which is Halloween, the erstwhile president will marque a run halt successful New Mexico, and Saturday he'll sojourn Virginia. Both states were erstwhile cardinal wide predetermination battlegrounds that person leaned bluish the past 2 decades. 

In fact, you've got to look backmost 20 years – to President George W. Bush's re-election – to find the past GOP statesmanlike nominee to transportation some states. 

So why, with clip specified a precious commodity for statesmanlike campaigns and the timepiece rapidly ticking toward Election Day, is Trump spending clip successful New Mexico and Virginia?

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Former President Trump speaks during a run rally astatine Madison Square Garden successful New York, Oct. 27, 2024. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

Unlike his ample rallies connected Sunday successful New York City and 2 weeks agone successful confederate California – heavy bluish states the Trump run has nary illusions of flipping – the erstwhile president and his squad spot opportunities successful Virginia and New Mexico.

"As President Trump has said, helium volition beryllium a president for each Americans, including those successful traditionally bluish states that Kamala Harris and the Democrats person near behind. Kamala Harris’ dangerously wide policies person failed Americans crossed the state – from the Bronx, to Virginia, and New Mexico – which is wherefore President Trump is bringing his America First connection and imaginativeness for hardworking families close to their beforehand door," Republican National Committee spokesperson Anna Kelley argued successful a connection to Fox News.

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There hasn't been an abundance of polling in New Mexico, but astir caller surveys bespeak Harris with an precocious azygous digit pb implicit Trump, though 1 survey suggests a tighter contention for the state's 5 electoral votes.

"Trump is wasting his clip coming to our authorities arsenic polling shows New Mexicans are acceptable to cull his MAGA extremism and divisive rhetoric yet again," Democratic Party of New Mexico spokesperson Daniel Garcia claimed successful a statement.

And referring to the Oct. 31 halt successful Albuquerque by the erstwhile president, Garcia took a verbal changeable astatine Trump, saying "a rotund orangish wide volition beryllium successful Albuquerque connected Halloween, and we’re not talking astir a pumpkin."

Trump hasn't acceptable ft successful New Mexico successful 5 years. 

Former President Trump speaks during a run lawsuit astatine Historic Greenbrier Farms successful Chesapeake, Virginia, connected June 28, 2024. (Parker Michels-Boyce/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

It's a antithetic communicative in Virginia, where the erstwhile president held a ample rally successful the southeastern country of the authorities successful June.

Trump connected Saturday holds a rally successful Salem, Virginia, successful the blimpish southwestern country of the commonwealth.

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Polls successful the authorities bespeak the Democratic statesmanlike nominee holding anyplace from a little double-digit pb to a flimsy little azygous digit borderline implicit the erstwhile president.

"We person a truly bully accidental to triumph Virginia – hasn’t been won successful decades by a [GOP] statesmanlike candidate," Trump told Virginia Republicans successful a September tele-rally. 

It's an statement that Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia is besides making.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks during the Republican National Convention successful Milwaukee, Wisconsin, connected July 15, 2024. (Reuters/Jeenah Moon)

But determination whitethorn beryllium different contributing origin to Trump's halt successful Virginia.

Trump connected Friday pilloried a national judge’s ruling that Virginia indispensable reconstruct much than 1,500 radical to the state’s elector rolls, with the erstwhile president falsely claiming Harris was down the determination and charging that it amounted to "election interference."

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The authorities of Virginia connected Sunday filed an exigency enactment exertion to the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the little tribunal ruling, which halted the state's efforts to region suspected noncitizens from the elector rolls.

Veteran Virginia-based governmental idiosyncratic David Richards of the University of Lynchburg told Fox News that "based connected each the polling I americium seeing, it is not wide that this rally volition assistance Trump triumph Virginia."

"But I deliberation helium has bigger ambitions by coming to cardinal Virginia. I deliberation helium wants to capitalize connected the judicial determination to reinstate voters who person not met the citizenship requirements oregon had not checked the close box, and were picked up by a wide expanse of registered voters successful Virginia," Richards said. "This plays into his wide communicative astir amerciable immigrants trying to ballot successful the election. I deliberation helium is seeking a nationalist audience, not needfully conscionable a Virginia audience, by coming and doing a rally here."

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