When absentee ballots arrived at doorsteps in Michigan last month, so did Paul Hudson, a Grand Rapids lawyer and Republican candidate for Congress. Equipped with an app that identified likely voters and potential persuadables, he spent his morning traversing a densely populated swing district where single-story ranch homes proudly display Trump flags next to those boasting “Harris Walz” signs on their manicured lawns.
This strategy is not new; it’s a time-honored approach used in close races, tested by campaigns large and small in every election cycle. However, the former President Donald Trump’s campaign has chosen a markedly different route.
Instead of traditional methods, Trump’s campaign is honing in on irregular voters, training supporters to monitor polling locations, and unleashing a barrage of voting-related lawsuits. This intricate operation is aimed at a crucial election where the outcome could depend on a mere handful of ballots in seven key battleground states. The campaign acknowledges this strategy is a high-stakes gamble, but they assert it is grounded in data collected over nearly a decade and rigorously tested in the last six months.
Furthermore, the campaign has received substantial financial backing recently from a super PAC affiliated with tech mogul Elon Musk, one of Trump’s most vocal supporters.
The unorthodox approach was highlighted when conservative commentator Tucker Carlson visited Grand Rapids last month. During his visit, he urged his audience to download an app called 10xVotes, designed to help users identify non-voting conservatives among family and friends. Just days later, the Michigan state party chairman promoted the same app during a visit to Traverse City alongside Trump’s running mate, JD Vance.
In various locations across the state, the Trump campaign is conducting “election integrity” training sessions to instruct conservatives on becoming poll watchers, even in areas where Republicans typically enjoy significant victories. In addition, the campaign and the Republican Party are engaged in legal battles against the state of Michigan to prevent local Veterans Affairs offices and other federal agencies from offering voter registration services.
This strategy stands in stark contrast to how Trump secured victory in the Grand Rapids area and other battlegrounds eight years ago. At that time, voter outreach efforts were coordinated by the Republican Party from regional field offices. Now, many GOP strategists are voicing their concerns about this approach, arguing that it lacks the sophisticated political machinery that the Trump campaign claims to be operating. They fear that too much emphasis is being placed on disengaged voters and on catering to Trump’s obsession with revisiting the 2020 election results.
“It’s political malpractice,” declared Dennis Lennox, a seasoned Republican operative in Michigan. “It’s a Hail Mary.”
The Trump campaign, however, views this approach as a reflection of the candidate they aim to propel to victory in a tightly contested race against Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump’s celebrity status and brash demeanor may resonate with those who typically don’t vote, even as his first term in the White House alienated many swing voters that candidates usually strive to win over.
According to James Blair, Trump’s political director, this new outreach effort is taking place in regions that were previously neglected by the Trump campaign four years ago. In Michigan, for instance, the 2020 campaign concentrated its efforts in the suburbs of Detroit and around Grand Rapids, focusing on voter engagement in these areas. However, recent data reviewed by CNN indicates a more aggressive outreach in less populated areas of central Michigan, as well as increased activity in Detroit, where the campaign claims it is strategically targeting Black men.
Blair pointed out that voters who have turned against Trump are unlikely to change their minds simply because someone knocked on their door.
“We have a narrower perspective than others on who is persuadable at the door,” he explained. “But knocking on doors is particularly effective for turnout, especially among low and mid-propensity voters who don’t get contacted often and may need information about their voting options.”
Few regions swung away from Trump more dramatically than the Grand Rapids metro area. Amid the revitalizing downtown and neighboring communities that border apple orchards and farmlands, swing voters are abundant. Moderate Republicans—descendants of the area’s early Dutch settlers and shaped by the influence of its most renowned figure, former President Gerald Ford—are also prevalent. They turned out in significant numbers during the GOP presidential primary, with one-third of Kent County Republicans casting their ballots for former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley instead of Trump.
Instead of seeking to win over these voters, however, Trump’s campaign appears focused on identifying new supporters.
Hudson, who is challenging freshman Representative Hillary Scholten—the first Democrat to represent Grand Rapids in thirty years—acknowledged that Trump’s distinctiveness could provide him with a different pathway to victory in his district. Nonetheless, he emphasized that his focus remains on appealing to moderate voters.
“That strategy would be crazy for anyone else,” Hudson remarked. “Those voters are low-propensity for a reason. But I sense they’re committed to this approach.”
In a rapidly shifting political landscape, the untraditional tactics being employed by Trump’s campaign in Michigan underscore the evolving dynamics of voter engagement. As they navigate the challenges of mobilizing voters in a landscape marked by uncertainty, the success of this unconventional strategy remains to be seen. Will it resonate with the electorate, or will it alienate them further? Only time will tell as the election draws nearer and both sides ramp up their efforts in a bid to secure victory.
