Harris meets with Obama and Springsteen; Trump left the West behind

Trump’s allies could not have been clearer today as they stood in a rural community in the northwestern corner of Pennsylvania: Trump supporters, go vote now.

During the Trump campaign’s bus tour in New Castle, Trump’s allies made impassioned appeals to his supporters to cast their ballots early, and one speaker admonished Trump fans who did not do so.

“How many of you have voted already?” asked David Bossie, a Republican National Committee member from Maryland who was a top official on Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Only a fraction of the crowd of about 100 fans raised their hands.

“Okay, the rest of you, shame on you!” he said.

“OK? I’m serious,” he continued. “We need to get out and vote early. Get your asses to the polls. Get them out there now. We have to pile up the votes before early voting ends.”

Messages about early voting have changed significantly for Republicans during this period compared to the 2020 race, when Trump and his allies cast doubt on the legitimacy of early voting. Even now, Trump and some of his supporters have expressed skepticism about the security of voting by mail or voting early; but Trump himself voted that way.

“We only have so many resources at our disposal during a campaign,” Bossie said. “And we’re wasting campaign time and resources going after people like you. “We need to accumulate your votes early so we can track down and find low-propensity voters who will vote for Donald Trump.”

The deadline to vote early in Pennsylvania is Monday.

“We’re going to have to be uncomfortable,” said Slippery Rock Mayor J.D. Longo. “We will have to do things we have never done before. … Everyone, please, I’m begging you. Hear me out, folks: When we vote early, we free up valuable campaign resources that will allow all those good people, and the campaign in general, to focus on individuals who may not be as motivated as you and I to vote.”

as of todayRegistered Democrats account for 60.2% of votes cast in Pennsylvania, with 29.9% coming from Republicans and 10% more from independents or third-party voters. This is a slight improvement for Republicans Compared to the 2020 electionsRepublicans ultimately accounted for 24% of mail-in and early in-person votes, while Democrats accounted for 65% of those votes.

“Pennsylvania Republicans don’t tend to vote early,” said Carla Sands, Trump’s ambassador to Denmark. “I ask you to change this and save our country.”