Who will Christie supporters vote for?
Hours after Gov. Chris Christie dropped out of the GOP primary, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis took the debate stage in Des Moines. While Christie had not qualified for the debate, his absence meant even fewer opportunities to remind voters of some harsh truths: Namely, that Donald Trump is on the verge of locking down the GOP nomination.
Christie could still have an impact, mainly in New Hampshire. A good portion of his voters appear inclined to support Haley. As she continues to narrow the gap with Trump, that could make a difference. (Christie hasn’t formally endorsed her, adding a bit of a wrinkle.)
But once New Hampshire passes, his support is unlikely to help Haley. In some states it might even hurt her, given how unpopular Christie currently is with the Trump base. So yes, his voice will be missed. But his endorsement, or lack thereof, is unlikely to have much of an impact after January.
What’s next for the Biden campaign
President Joe Biden is ramping up his case against Trump. And two powerful back-to-back speeches were met with collective sighs of relief from many corners of the Democratic Party.
What’s behind the shift? I know from working on three presidential campaigns that there is always a lot happening behind the scenes. This week, I spent an afternoon with senior members of the Biden-Harris campaign team and walked away with two big takeaways.
One, Trump’s record is going to continue to be a focus. As campaign communications director Michael Tyler told me, “they have the receipts” and they are planning to use them. This includes a plan to “drive social media conversation about crazy, ridiculous, extreme things that Republicans are saying in real time.”
And two, they are focused on meeting people where they are. This is an old communications term that reflects the importance of evolving how you reach people. Their plan is to rely on early and ambitious paid media investments, on targeted and more…
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