WASHINGTON — Pushing for new roads to reelection, President Donald Trump is going on the offense this weekend in Nevada, which hasn’t supported a Republican presidential candidate since 2004.
Trump is defying local authorities by holding public events over the weekend after officials blocked his initial plans for rallies in Reno and Las Vegas because they would have violated coronavirus health guidelines. It’s the kind of fight that Trump’s team relishes and underscores the growing importance of Nevada in Trump’s quest for 270 electoral votes as the race against Democrat Joe Biden looks tight in a number of pivotal states.
Trump narrowly lost Nevada in 2016 to Hillary Clinton, and the state has trended further toward the Democrats in the past decade. But Trump’s campaign has invested heavily in the state, relying on its ground game to turn out voters. Democrats, by contrast, have largely relied on virtual campaign efforts during the pandemic, save for the casino workers’ Culinary Union, which has sent workers door to door.
“The Democrats are scared. They know President Trump has the momentum,” said the state GOP chairman, Michael McDonald.
Both candidates have spent about $4.5 million in Nevada, while Trump has made $5.5 million in future reservations in the state and Biden has allocated $2.5 million, according to the ad tracking firm Kantar/CMAG.
The Trump team originally planned rallies at airport hangars in Reno and Las Vegas, but those were scuttled by due to concerns the campaign would not abide by COVID-19 restrictions. State Republicans blamed Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak for trying to hurt the president’s reelection chances, even though the Reno rally was canceled by airport officials and Las Vegas airport officials said they were never contacted by the campaign.
Sisolak has limited in-person gatherings indoors and outdoors to 50 people since May, a recommendation based on White House reopening guidelines.
Instead, Trump scheduled an event in Minden, about 45 miles south of Reno, on Saturday night. He planned to host a “Latinos for Trump” roundtable Sunday morning in Las Vegas, followed by an evening rally at a manufacturing facility in neighboring Henderson.