Hillary Clinton's campaign succeeded in getting Donald Trump to make recent trips to solidly Republican states, and in private, they're patting themselves on the back, Politico reports.
Trump has recently campaigned in Arizona, a state that Republicans have won in all but one of the last 16 elections. His running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, has gone to Georgia, which the GOP held in seven out of eight previous elections.
"This would be the equivalent of Hillary having to campaign in Massachusetts or having to campaign in California, except (to raise) money," Chris Lehane, a Democratic strategist close to the Clinton operation, told Politico. "Either he has fallen for it hook, line and sinker, or there are substantive concerns given his changes in some of the margins within specific cohorts of voters. Either way, it's good news."
Clinton's campaign has been publicly increasing efforts in red states by hiring staff, throwing fundraisers and sending out appeals by mail. In Utah, where Republicans have won every presidential election since 1964, her camp sent a mailer depicting a worried woman holding a mug with the words, "You care about your community and the future of this country," and "that's why the thought of Donald Trump as President is so alarming."
Clinton herself has been staying in reliably blue states like Massachusetts, New York and California, for fundraising and possibly to avoid uncomfortable questions about the Clinton Foundation and the fresh batch of emails recently found from her private server.
The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll shows a majority of American voters view Clinton unfavorably, a rise in the last three weeks to a record 59 percent, while Trump is unpopular with 60 percent.
While speaking privately to campaign donors in Easthampton, N.Y., according to Politico, Clinton indicated that she wasn't about to let up, saying she wants to win "as resoundingly as possible."
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