(Bloomberg) -- Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump said the party would consider putting more money into key swing states — such as Pennsylvania and North Carolina — where polls show the presidential contest between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris has grown more competitive.
“Pennsylvania is a must-win state. Every election cycle, we have seen consistently how important that state has become,” Trump, the daughter-in law of the former Republican president, said during an interview Wednesday on Bloomberg Television’s Balance of Power. “I think the margins have tightened quite a bit there.”
Pennsylvania is the state with the most Electoral College votes among the core battlegrounds, making it a key target for the campaigns of both Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, and Harris.
She also cited her own home of North Carolina, as a “state where we’ve seen some movement.”
“It looked very positive for Donald Trump whenever he was going against Joe Biden,” she said. “It still shows Donald Trump up on Kamala Harris but we want to make sure that we increase that lead. So we certainly are prepared to put more money into that state.”
Her comments highlight how Harris reshaped the electoral map after President Biden’s decision to end his reelection campaign and endorse his vice president, a move that put into play states Democrats had largely written off. Polls have shown Harris largely erasing the lead Trump, the Republican nominee, has held nationally and in key swing states — with just over two months left until Election Day.
A July Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll found Harris trailing Trump by two percentage points in North Carolina and four percentage points in Pennsylvania.
Equally troubling for Republicans has been the fundraising surge Harris has enjoyed, which has allowed her to overtake Trump in the money race.
The RNC co-chair downplayed the gap between her father-in-law’s fundraising and the Harris campaign, saying Republicans never expected to keep pace with Democrats in 2024. She noted that Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee in 2016, outraised Trump and still lost the race.
Harris’ campaign and its affiliates raised $82 million during last week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, pushing their total fundraising haul to $540 million since Biden announced he would step aside.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
