Democrats have long dominated the big-money grassroots door knocking, outspending Republicans in canvassing for voters, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, but the Trump campaign knows it has to work smarter, not harder.
"The practical reality is the program devolved to mostly paid staff grinding out door knocking and phones, and it was all about volume, volume, volume, driving as much volume as possible," strategist for the Trump campaign James Blair told the Journal. "There's not good evidence that all voter contacts are created equal."
The Trump campaign had faced liberal media criticism for not having the ground games of his GOP primary rivals, but ultimately it proved correct in its assessment of efficiency and spending, blowing out his GOP rivals in a history primary landslide victory.
Blair noted the focus has shifted to giving priority to voter contacts over contact attempts.
"We're focused on turning out people that are guaranteed to vote for Trump as long as they go vote," Blair told the paper.
It is a focused ground game instead of scattershot, the report noted.
"I don't have heartburn — right now," a North Carolina GOP official told the Journal. "It's much more community based, as opposed to trying to get these large groups to show up."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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