The Coronavirus pandemic hit the pause button for most individuals across America, and for good reason as we all work to slow the spread of the disease. However, it’s 2020– a presidential election year– and Election Day is fast approaching. Trump Victory, the joint apparatus between the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee, is still moving full steam ahead while adhering to shelter-in-place orders and social distancing guidelines. It took Trump Victory merely twenty-four hours to convert their boots-on-the-ground field program into a completely virtual campaign.
They explained that the ease of the transition is a testament to their commitment to Virginia. The RNC has had a campaign presence in Virginia since the 2016 election, working tirelessly to engage and organize their supporters throughout the state. More importantly, they’re saying that CDC guidelines haven’t slowed down their efforts. The organization was able to easily conduct their volunteer trainings through online platforms like Zoom and Google Hangouts. Instead of focusing on in-person activities like door knocking, the teams are encouraging volunteers to engage with one another and other supporters through social media and “Trump Talk” – the campaign’s phone app which allows volunteers to make voter contact calls from the comforts of their home – and their work is paying off.
During their National Week of Training last month, they held 312 events across the country, just a few events shy of their average weekly trainings across the country of 342. Locally, they held dozens of trainings and made nearly 50,000 voter contacts – all done in the homes of their supporters and volunteers – and within CDC guidelines.
For Trump Victory, this is a sign of which side is prepared for a rigorous campaign, whether that’s in-person or online. “It took the Democrat front-runner four days to hold an online interview, Samantha Cotten, a Regional Communications Director with Trump Victory said. “Democrats simply cannot compete with our army of volunteers and data-driven ground game.”
Cotten’s reference is a nod to Joe Biden, who’s campaign staff proudly admitted their struggles to adapt to a social distancing world, noting that it took their team four days to set up its video conference capabilities. But their struggles don’t end there.
The RNC has continued to raise more money than the GOP. According to Shane Goldmacher with The New York Times, the Trump Campaign and RNC combined have approximately $225 million cash-on-hand, while the Biden campaign and DNC combined, minus their debts, have closer to $20 million cash-on-hand. Meanwhile, the RNC is proud to tout it’s nearly 10 million voter contacts this cycle, more than 200,000 of which have occurred in Virginia.