Welcome to the online version of From the political deskis an evening newsletter from the NBC News political team that brings you the latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill.
In today’s edition, senior national political reporters Natasha Koleki and Jonathan Allen examine whether Minnesota could become a true battleground state this year. Plus, “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker explains how Joe Biden is ramping up his outreach to Black voters.
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Can President Trump make Minnesota fight?
Written by Natasha Koleki and Jonathan Allen
No state screams “blue walls” like Minnesota.
This is the first time a Republican has been elected since President Richard Nixon in 1972, and Democrats say former President Donald Trump has no chance of winning.
Nevertheless, President Joe Biden’s campaign is working with a local Democratic surrogate, Gov. Tim Walz, to counter President Trump’s appearance at the Lincoln-Reagan Banquet hosted by the Minnesota Republican Party on Friday night. They’re ousting Sen. Tina Smith. First lady Jill Biden also campaigned in the state last month.
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The attention suggests that both sides see Minnesota as another battleground in a race likely to be decided in a relatively small number of states. Democrats quickly acknowledged that a Trump victory there would spell disaster for the entire country. But party insiders who know the state best say talk of President Trump changing his policies in the fall is exaggerated.
Walz said in an interview that Biden came closer to winning Texas (5.6 points) than Trump did in Minnesota in 2020 (7.1 points). That came after President Trump famously said he would “never return” to the state if he lost.
Still, Trump lost Minnesota by less than two points in 2016, making it an attractive target for Republicans. At an event in Palm Beach, Florida, on May 4, Trump’s senior advisers told donors that the six-party trial in Minnesota, which includes four independent candidates, would not allow Mr. Biden was tied at 40%, while Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was at 9%. %.
In an electoral battleground with few states actually participating, both sides are gunning for a chance to win — or at least give the opposition a head fake strong enough to force it to spend precious resources on defense. It is said that Even with that in mind, Trump campaign officials remain consistently optimistic about Minnesota. Senior adviser Chris LaCivita said in a recent interview that the state presents a “real opportunity.”
However, the Biden campaign points out that it already has personnel and organizations in Minnesota, while Trump has virtually no presence in the state this term.
“Basically, what we’re doing in Minnesota and Virginia is not taking any states, any votes for granted,” said Dan Kanninen, the Biden campaign’s battleground state director. He spoke at a recent press conference.
Read more →
Biden steps up outreach to black voters as polls show declining approval ratings
Written by Kristen Welker
President Joe Biden is changing focus Protect your record with black voters, a group of supporters you can’t afford to lose.
Yesterday, he met privately with the plaintiffs in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. Today he spoke at the 70th anniversary of the Brown decision at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. He and Vice President Kamala Harris also held private talks with Divine Nine leaders. Historically Black Sorority and Fraternity Groups.
Tomorrow, he will hold an event with black voters in Georgia ahead of Sunday’s commencement address at historically black Morehouse College. Later Sunday, he will travel to the battleground state of Michigan to visit black-owned small businesses in Detroit and speak at an NAACP dinner.
The Biden campaign released a memo outlining these efforts to reach out to Black voters, pledging to “not take a single voter for granted.”
Biden is losing support among black Americans. While 87% of Black voters supported him in 2020, according to exit polls, only 71% now support him in NBC News’ latest national poll.
Our poll also shows that enthusiasm among Black voters is lower than the overall electorate, with 59% of Black voters saying they have a high level of interest in the 2024 election. Black voters made up just 59% of voters, compared to 64% of all voters. This is lower than the enthusiasm of black voters at this point in the past four general elections.
In my own conversations, Democrats see these numbers as a red flag for the Biden campaign. They know that the president cannot afford to lose this kind of support among black voters if he wants to hang on to the White House.
Biden’s schedule this week shows they’re starting to realize that, too, with four days in a row of events focused on Black voters and Black history.
Talk to Biden campaign agent Maryland Gov. Wes Moore will talk about this and more on “Meet the Press” this Sunday.
🗞️ Today’s Top News
- 🇺🇲 Flag drama: Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, responded to new reports that an upside-down American flag was flying outside Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s home at the time. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said he should recuse himself from lawsuits related to the 2020 election. After the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. Read more →
- 👀 “I haven’t heard anything”: Both parties are trying to gain support among black men ahead of the election, but there hasn’t been much outreach and some say they may not even turn out to vote. Read more →
- ☑️ Abortion Ballot: Amendments that would enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitutions of Colorado and South Dakota are now officially eligible to appear on the November ballot. Read more →
- 🎙️ Debatable: Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr., co-founder and co-chairman of the Commission on Presidential Debates, spoke with Politico to discuss Biden and Trump’s rejection of his group’s plans and how the commission is “not yet.” He explained why he thinks he’s not dead. Read more →
- 🗳️ Autumn harvest: Republicans have harshly criticized so-called vote-hunting efforts, but plan to launch their own operations in battleground states this year. Read more →
- 🗣️ Was Fili arrested? If Democrats maintain their narrow Senate majority, they could win enough votes to change the filibuster on major legislation. Read more →
- 🤯 Heating in the house: Thursday night’s House Oversight Committee meeting devolved into personal attacks, including insults about “fake eyelashes” and “bleached blond, short butch bodies.” Read more →
That’s all from the political desk for now. If you have any feedback, whether you like it or not, please email us at: politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com
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