Former President Donald Trump is in the fight of his life to win reelection. He needs all the help he can get to defeat Kamala Harris and the radical Left.
And Trump supporters in key battleground states are hitting the panic button thanks to this bombshell report.
Republican activists in key swing states are raising concerns about the lack of visible ground support from groups tasked with door-knocking and mobilizing infrequent voters on behalf of Donald Trump. This crucial element of voter outreach is increasingly being handled by outside organizations, including America PAC, which is backed by billionaire Elon Musk.
With fewer than 50 days until the November 5th election, many GOP officials, activists, and operatives in battleground states like Michigan and North Carolina report seeing little evidence of America PAC’s presence.
Some are now questioning the effectiveness of relying on outside groups for such an important component of the campaign. “I haven’t seen anybody,” said Nate Wilkowski, the field director for the Republican Party in Oakland County, Michigan. He referred specifically to America PAC, adding that he hadn’t received any notice that their canvassers were active in his area.
Trump’s campaign, heavily reliant on his loyal base, sees the race against Vice President Kamala Harris as a toss-up. The campaign believes it has an advantage with less frequent voters who didn’t turn out in 2016 or 2020.
However, the sparse visibility of the get-out-the-vote operation is causing concern among some party activists, particularly in states like Michigan, where Trump lost by a narrow margin in 2020.
Michigan’s GOP chairman, Pete Hoekstra, said he had been informed that America PAC canvassers were active in the state since late August.
According to a spokesperson for America PAC, the canvassing efforts are underway in seven key battleground states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. However, they declined to specify the number of canvassers involved.
Meghan Reckling, a Republican canvassing firm owner in Michigan, said she observed two America PAC canvassers in Oakland County earlier this week, noting that they appeared to be targeting areas with low-propensity voters. “They had, you could tell, a very pleasant exchange with the lady who answered the door,” she said. “From what I observed, they were obviously engaging in direct conversations.”
Yet, such sightings remain uncommon. Interviews with over two dozen activists and officials across these seven states revealed that many had not encountered America PAC canvassers at all. Mark Forton, GOP chair in Macomb County, Michigan, expressed similar doubts: “I don’t know what the PACs are doing. I don’t know if they are going door to door.”
Trump’s campaign claims to have a substantial network of about 30,000 volunteer captains focused on reaching less likely voters through local canvassing efforts. James Blair, Trump’s political director, also estimates that around 2,500 paid canvassers, with America PAC handling a significant portion of this work, are on the ground in these battleground states.
According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records, the PAC has spent over $14 million on canvassing efforts since mid-August. Blair rejected the notion that the campaign was outsourcing this critical operation, instead framing it as a strategic collaboration with these groups to maximize voter contact and coverage. “We very much are focused on low-propensity voters,” Blair explained, emphasizing that these efforts are key to winning the election.
America PAC, which is led by former aides to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, isn’t the only group working on Trump’s behalf. Other organizations such as Turning Point USA, led by conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and the Faith and Freedom Coalition, headed by Christian leader Ralph Reed, are also helping to mobilize voters.
The campaign’s move to rely on these outside groups was facilitated by a recent FEC ruling allowing campaigns and super PACs to coordinate their canvassing efforts and share voter data, easing the logistical burden of voter outreach.
In contrast, Harris’ campaign is largely handling its ground operations internally, employing nearly 2,200 staffers across more than 300 offices in these battleground states. Labor organizations, independent of the Harris campaign, are also involved in canvassing efforts. Harris’ campaign is heavily outspending Trump’s in advertising, with nearly $175 million more in ad reservations as of now, according to AdImpact.
America PAC has faced challenges of its own. Just this past week, it severed ties with a Nevada-based canvassing company, September Group, after paying them nearly $2.7 million a month earlier, according to FEC filings. America PAC has not publicly confirmed the reason for the split.
This reliance on outside groups is not new for Trump or Republican candidates. Similar efforts were seen in Ron DeSantis’ failed 2024 presidential bid, where much of the campaign’s ground operation was outsourced to the super PAC, Never Back Down. In 2016, Jeb Bush attempted a similar strategy with his super PAC, Right to Rise, which raised over $114 million but failed to secure his nomination.
Whether Trump’s gamble on outsourcing voter outreach will pay off remains to be seen, but as Election Day approaches, many within the Republican Party are watching closely to see if the ground game, or lack thereof, will prove to be a decisive factor.
Stay tuned to The Federalist Wire.
