Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign is nervous that Trump is going to declare a premature victory on election night, while Trump’s camp is confident there will be no need to do so because they believe they are going to win outright.
During a recent press call, one of Harris's senior campaign officials implied they will simply try to make key counties in important battleground states count votes until they clinch a victory, even if Trump declares a victory on election night.
The unnamed official said they “fully expect” Trump will declare himself the winner of the election before all the votes have been counted but that “it won’t work.”
“He did this before. It failed,” the official told NBC News, adding that they think Trump will try to “sow doubt about a loss that he anticipates is coming” because he “lies all the time.”
The official said that they want to maximize turnout among their voter base, adding: “Meanwhile, we are focused on making sure that all of our voters have the information to get out and vote, and that they feel confident doing it safely and securely, and that they know that we’re going to protect that vote and that we are going to ensure that it counts, no matter what Trump and his campaign are doing.”
Although Harris campaign officials seem convinced that Trump will declare himself the winner, Trump told ABC’s Jonathan Karl that he is prepared for the possibility of losing. When asked if there was any way he might lose the election, Trump replied: "Yeah I guess it could happen. Things happen. Bad things happen."
Trump campaign shares data that shows early voting is going well for Republicans
Nevertheless, the Trump campaign is being publicly upbeat about his chances, highlighting data that shows Republicans have been picking up speed in early voting in several key battleground states.
One campaign source told the New York Post that infrequent and new voters have been leaning more toward the GOP in Pennsylvania, Nevada, North Carolina and Arizona, according to partisan registration in early voting. It’s also worth noting that early voting favored Democrats in 2020, whereas in-person voting went more toward Republicans.
His campaign also issued a memo claiming that the urban vote and women’s vote are both down, which is bad news for Harris, while the rural vote is up, which tends to be good for Republicans.
Many in his campaign think that there will be no need for him to make any premature declarations of victory because he will win the presidency outright.
His campaign’s senior adviser, Jason Miller, told reporters: "We will declare victory when we are confident that we have the 270 electoral votes that we need. The numbers show that President Trump is going to win this race."
Final national poll shows Harris and Trump tied at 49%
Meanwhile, the final national poll for the election from NBC News shows a dead heat, with Harris and Trump both attracting support from 49% of registered voters; 2% remain undecided.
While Harris boasts a 20-point lead over Trump when it comes to abortion, Trump can benefit from the fact that two thirds of voters say they think the country is currently headed in the wrong direction and a double-digit lead when it comes to the economy and the cost of living.
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