We’re counting down to the election now and everyone is looking at the polls, focus groups, and the potential signs.
But I’ll hand it to CBS: they’re actually sending people out into the field to talk with people, and they’re coming back with reactions that may fly in the face of some of the polls.
As we reported five days ago, they sent Major Garrett out into the field in Michigan, and he came back with the report that the support for former President Donald Trump was “real and resilient.” That was just as a local Detroit News poll and an Insider Advantage survey were putting Trump ahead. Michigan is thought to be one of Kamala Harris’ best opportunities to pick up a swing state. She’s ahead in the RCP average there at 1.2 percent, but if it’s that tight, there is a real issue for her. On top of that, there’s the “Uncommitted” vote that might normally go to her from folks on the left who are upset over Gaza and may just not show up for her.
READ MORE: Prepare for Meltdowns: CBS Report, Post-Debate Poll Show Good News for Trump in Michigan
Now CBS has sent another reporter out, this time to Nevada. While the RCP average in Nevada is very tight, with Harris up currently at 0.4 percent, what Adrianna Diaz found might indicate something different. She visited restaurants in Reno, North Las Vegas, and Pahrump, Nevada. Trump’s “no tax on tips” policy would resonate there with the area’s large service economy, but it sounded like they were already liking his other ideas on the economy and the border.
In Reno, at a barbecue restaurant, Diaz spoke to four women friends, and they were disturbed about illegal immigration. As one woman pooh-poohed the thought that most were coming because of asylum, “Baloney. They’re coming here for the freebies.”
Another woman debunked the false premise, often pushed by the media/left, that Trump supporters are against immigration when they’re against illegal immigration.
Diaz only found one Harris supporter in the whole restaurant despite Washoe County being historically “pretty split.” The man claimed that “democracy” was “clearly being threatened by Trump and the Republican Party.” So only one fell for that false Democratic narrative.
In a North Las Vegas Mexican restaurant, people were concerned about the economy and the border. That isn’t good for Harris. A husband and wife who were originally from Portugal and Mexico were Republicans; the wife spoke about the illegal aliens “not following the rules.” The one Harris supporter in the restaurant thought Biden-Harris had been responsible for “job growth.” But another table of men disagreed. One man was upset about inflation, “Tacos used by be, what? A dollar, a dollar fifty? After the pandemic, they don’t go under three dollars,” he said. He’s leaning toward Trump.
In Pahrump, a husband and wife identified as Trump supporters, with the wife saying Trump was a strong leader who could deal with foreign leaders. The husband worried about the state of the nation. Business leaders at another table spoke about inflation, which one put at the feet of Joe Biden.
In each place, Diaz said she only found one Harris supporter per restaurant.
“What was really incredible is in every single restaurant, of the people willing to talk to us, we could only find one Harris supporter in every restaurant — and we left no stone unturned.”
She said that she approached “every single person” except for one guy who was drunk.
“But people are really excited about Trump,” Diaz declared.
Now of course, that’s anecdotal, but Garrett came away with a similar sense about the resilience of Trump voters.
The current RCP numbers for swing states post-debate have Trump up in PA, Arizona, North Carolina, and Georgia, with Harris ahead in Nevada, MI, and WI. That would work out to 281 to 257 in the Electoral College numbers in favor of Trump.