Election day is less than a week away and the Presidential candidates portray different behavioral approaches in the final days of campaigning. Joe Biden goes on the offensive, while the Trump administration employs defensive tactics.
Today, Americans are more confused than ever trying to understand the truth behind competing tabloids claiming victories for both Presidential candidates. However, one note rings above the partisan fog: this election may be one of the most important of our lifetimes. Big issues loom over the heads of the US public including the pandemic, economic turmoil, civil unrest, and health insurance.
Recent voting reports strengthen the claim that Americans view the 2020 election as paramount to the future of the country. Over seventy million people voted early as of Tuesday, according to the United States Election Project. In 2016, a total of sixty-eight million Americans voted early, and forty-seven million of those votes were placed the day before the election.
In total, around 138 million Americans voted in 2016, and using the midterm elections as a signifier, experts predict record turnout this election cycle. Democrats lead slightly in mail-in votes, while Republicans voters show an edge in in-person voting. Democrats expect young people to flock to the polls in unprecedented droves on election day. With six states not even allowing early voting at all, anticipation, and anxiety weigh heavily.
And in the final days, both Joe Biden’s and Donald Trump’s campaigning strategies hint at where they believe the Presidential race stands. Let’s take a peek into the Trump administration’s recent activities.
In terms of funding, the Republicans are metaphorically tightening their belts. The Democrats, along with the Joe Biden campaign, are outraising and outspending their Republican counterparts nearly across the board. Recently, the Trump administration cut spending in the battleground state of Florida by about two million dollars. Meanwhile, Former NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg, a supporter of Biden, pledged $100 million to campaigning in Florida and a subsequent $15 million in advertising to Texas and Ohio. These states all swung red in 2016 and hang in the balance now in 2020.
Since World War II, only two incumbents lost their reelection bids. The last was George H.W. Bush in 1992. Today, Trump’s incumbency provides little armor against the wave of Democratic support. In a true role reversal, the Trump campaign appears scattered, taking a last-ditch effort to garner support anywhere across the country.
President Trump’s fierce defiance shines in his movement across the nation. Over the weekend, the President barreled through five different states across multiple time zones. On Monday, he visited Pennsylvania, with appearances in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Omaha, Nebraska on Tuesday. Today Trump sets his sights on Arizona and Nevada.
This movement marks, in our opinion, an inability for the President to parry attacks on multiple fronts. The campaign looks unfocused and ill-equipped to handle blue wave. In response, the Trump campaign has focused on slamming Joe Biden over his son’s incriminating (and somewhat uncorroborated) emails and touting that the unfavorable poll models are off like in 2016.
The Biden campaign on the other hand, is holding its cards closely. Biden shows a much slower and reserved campaigning pace. The Biden campaign favors playing the offensive, focusing their efforts on just a handful of states that can help seal the coffin on Donald Trump.
Over the weekend Joe Biden held two different events in one state, reportedly took a break from campaigning on Monday, and visited Georgia on Tuesday. Biden’s lead in the polls offers his campaign the opportunity to focus on red-leaning states that can provide insurance on a 2020 election victory. The presidential election odds reflect a stagnation in the polls, favoring a Biden lead. One of our favorite sportsbooks, Bovada showed a slight shift in the odds with a swing away from Biden.
US 2020 Presidential Election Winner
- Joe Biden -180
- Donald Trump +150
Biden remains the favorite across the odds and the polls, but Donald Trump’s hyperdrive campaign strategies may be continuing to shrink those margins.