After their first debate next week in the 2024 reelection bid, President Biden and Former President Trump He will remain in the South and hold rallies in states where he is trying to expand his map.
After clashing on stage Thursday evening in Atlanta — the capital and largest city in southeastern battleground Georgia — chairman He will travel to North Carolina, where he will hold a rally on Friday, a state he lost narrowly to Trump in 2020.
While Biden is in North Carolina, Trump will hold a rally on Friday in Virginia, where he lost by 10 points four years ago.
How Biden and Trump are preparing for next week’s presidential debate
File photos of President Biden (left) and former President Donald Trump (AP Photo/Alex Brandon/Curtis Means/DailyMail.com via AP, Pool)
It’s been two decades since any Republican Moved to Virginia In the race for the White House.
You have to go back to the time of then-President George W. Bush, who swept the Commonwealth in 2004 to win re-election.
But recent surveys show that the contest is tough.
Check out the latest Fox News poll in Virginia
A Fox News poll conducted June 1-4 shows the Democratic president and his Republican predecessor in the White House have 48% support in a head-to-head matchup.
In the multi-candidate race, Biden is at 42% and Trump at 41%, with Democrat-turned-independent Robert K. Kennedy at 9% and Green Party candidate Jill Stein and independent Cornel West each at 2%.
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Richmond, Virginia, on Saturday, March 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
“The politics here are in a state of confusion, and I think that’s reflected in the polling, where there’s no clear front-runner,” said Dave Richards, a political science professor at the University of Lynchburg, when asked about the apparent deadlock in his state.
at the closed door Republican National Committee At a retreat for top-dollar donors at a resort in Palm Beach, Florida, earlier this spring, senior Trump campaign advisers Susie Wills and Chris LaCivita and veteran pollster Tony Fabrizio highlighted internal surveys that showed “both Minnesota and Virginia are clearly in play.”
The survey shared with Fox News stressed that “Donald Trump remains in a position to flip crucial electoral votes in both states.”
This Republican governor says his state is playing a key role in the presidential election
Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin Virginia’s governor agrees, at least when it comes to his state.
Days before the Fox News poll was released, the governor said in an interview with Fox News Digital that “here we are in June and there’s still a lot to do, but it does seem like things are on track in Virginia, and that’s pretty exciting.”
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and former President Donald Trump met in early June at Trump’s private country club in Loudon County, Virginia. (Trump campaign)
Youngkin will join Trump at next week’s rally, sources have confirmed.
The governor’s appearance is likely to fuel further speculation about Youngkin’s potential running mate. The two politicians met in person for the first time last week, where they discussed flipping Virginia in the fall election.
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When asked about Youngkin in an interview with Fox News’ Aisha Hassani last week, Trump said he was “great” and that “I think I might consider it.”
President Joe Biden gestures as he delivers remarks on his economic plan during a visit to the Abbotts Creek Community Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, January 18, 2024. Reuters/Nathan Howard (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
On Friday, Biden will be in Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina.
The president lost the state four years ago by just 74,000 votes. As he aims to become the first Democrat to win North Carolina since former President Obama in 2008, he has expanded his campaign’s reach in the state and flooded the airwaves with ads.
Biden’s stop next week will be his fourth so far this year in North Carolina, which has seen a surge in new residents since the 2020 election that could potentially benefit the Democratic incumbent.
“I think with the fact that there’s only a 75 thousand vote difference between Trump and Biden, and the fact that registered Republicans have a higher turnout rate than registered Democrats, I think Biden’s campaign sees an opportunity,” said Michael Bitzer, chair of the politics department at Catawba College.
But Bitzer stressed that “this is an opportunity only if they invest in actions on the ground.”
