Support truly
independent journalism
The Trump campaign “no longer thinks New Hampshire is winnable” and is “pulling back” from the crucial swing state, according to a bombshell leaked email from a top campaign volunteer.
Tom Mountain, a former Republican party vice chair in Massachusetts, sent an email to volunteers claiming that “the campaign has determined that New Hampshire is no longer a battleground state,” The Boston Globe reported.
In the email, obtained by the Globe, Mountain advised supporters to turn their attention to Pennsylvania instead, as Trump was “sure to lose by an even higher margin” in New Hampshire than he did in 2016 and 2020.
Mountain claimed the campaign has been forced to “shift strategy” after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and Kamala Harris replaced him at the top of the ticket.
“So for those who were active in the NH ground campaign in 2016 and 2020, and expected to do the same after Labor Day, the simple question is… what are we to do? GO TO PENNSYLVANIA,” he reportedly wrote.
“The nearest battleground state. This is a must-win state. If we lose Pennsylvania we lose the election.”
Mountain claimed that the Trump campaign would be pulling resources out of the state and would not be sending Trump or any high-profile campaign surrogates, such as his sons, to the state.
After sending the email on Sunday evening, Mountain was asked to step away from the Trump campaign and “will no longer have any involvement,” senior campaign advisor Brian Hughes told the Globe.
The Independent has contacted the Trump campaign for further comment.
After Biden’s disastrous debate against Trump in June, Republicans were optimistic about their chances in New Hampshire and that they might have a chance of flipping the state.
A poll by St Anselm at the time found Trump had a two-point lead over Biden in the state following the debate. Referring to the debate, Jon McHenry, a national GOP pollster, said: “If it wasn’t already, it sure came into play last Thursday.”
But now, with Harris at the top of the ticket, she has now taken a seven-point lead over Trump, according to recent polling by St Anselm and the University of New Hampshire.
Despite the lead, Harris will visit the state on Wednesday when she hits Portsmouth on the campaign trail.
New Hampshire, which has a Republican Governor Chris Sununu, has not voted for a Republican in the presidential election in more than 20 years.
Trump has not visited the state – which carries four electoral college votes – since he won the GOP primary in January and his campaign has not released any details of a visit.
Jane Fogarty, Republican National Committeewoman for Massachusetts, told the Globe she was not aware of any shift in the Trump campaign’s strategy in the Granite State and insisted it remains “an important” state in the election.
