Trump team gambles on new ground game: "BE NORMAL. BE NORMAL. BE NORMAL." [View all]

[dalton99a]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/03/trump-allies-ground-game/

https://archive.ph/vzm3D

Trump team gambles on new ground game capitalizing on loosened rules
The campaign is joining forces with outside groups such as Turning Point Action after regulators cleared the way for more coordination. But it comes with the risk of untested outfits duplicating efforts or working at cross purposes.
By Isaac Arnsdorf and Josh Dawsey
August 3, 2024 at 6:00 a.m. EDT

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With fewer than 100 days left before the election, local GOP officials in battleground states have raised alarms about the scant presence of Trump campaign field staff. For the large armies of paid and volunteer door-knockers and canvassers that typically drive turnout in presidential elections, the campaign is largely relying on outside groups such as America First Works, America PAC and Turning Point Action.

At a Turning Point Action office in Waukesha, Wis., in June, about three dozen newly hired full-time community organizers got together with poster boards and scented markers to brainstorm techniques to meet their targeted neighbors. They were each assigned a few hundred registered Republicans who didn’t vote in recent presidential elections, aiming to turn them out for Trump.

[Turning Point Action chief operating officer Tyler] Bowyer instructed the organizers not to come on too strong by showing up with MAGA hats and fliers. Instead, they should research their marks and start reaching out through Facebook groups, community events, or neighborly gestures such as recommending plumbers or harp teachers. They could even arrange seemingly chance encounters on coffee runs or dog walks.

As one slide from the training implored: “BE NORMAL. BE NORMAL. BE NORMAL.”

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