Cheryl Fritze, director of News Operations for Michigan News Source, detailed the different approaches former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are taking in regard to campaigning in the battleground state of Michigan ahead of the November 5 general election.
RealClearPolitics’ 2024 RCP Electoral College Map lists Michigan, which has 15 electoral votes, as a toss up state for this year’s presidential election.
Trump won Michigan in 2016 by 0.3 percent of the vote; however, he lost the state in 2020 to President Joe Biden by 2.8 percent.
Fritze said that while Michigan remains a “toss up” for both Trump and Harris, the former president is making more of an effort to visit communities in the state where he may not be welcome to appeal to more voters.
“What I love is that former President Donald Trump is going to places where some think he wouldn’t be welcome and thousands of people show up,” Fritze explained on Monday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
“There’s a thought that just go where you think you need to be,” Fritze added.
When it comes to Harris’ strategy in Michigan, Fritze pointed out how the vice president travels to cities that are reliably Democratic while ignoring communities containing voters she appears to be unpopular among, including members of the United Auto Workers and Muslim voters.
“[Harris] has a problem on her hands, as the Democrats do, in the state of Michigan,” Fritze explained.
Noting how approximately 100,000 voters in the state voted “uncommitted” in the primary election earlier this year to send a message denouncing the administration’s response to the Israel-Hamas conflict, Fritze said Harris has “dismissed” those voters so far and has no plans to meet with the community.
Meanwhile, the Democratic mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan – the biggest Muslim community in Wayne County – endorsed Trump in recent weeks.
“In Michigan, [Hamtramck] is the largest Muslim Arab population in the country…They set a September 15 deadline for Harris to respond to them and some of their demands calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Not only did she not meet with them, she refused to even set a date to meet with them to talk about their demands. So following that deadline being dismissed by the Harris proposed administration, that’s when the endorsement [for Trump] came along,” Fritze explained.
“Their statements are being made loud and clear. They need to be paid attention to,” Fritze added.
Watch the full interview:
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Michigan Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
