In a recent development, renowned pollster Frank Luntz has suggested that the endorsement of former President Donald Trump by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could potentially tip the scales in favor of the Republicans in the upcoming battleground states.
Luntz, during his appearance on NewsNations On Balance with Leland Vittert, highlighted that despite Kennedy's dwindling poll numbers following Vice President Kamala Harris's nomination as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, his supporters could still provide the necessary votes to swing some states towards Trump.
According to The Post Millennial, Luntz stated, Its probably worth about 1 percent for Trump, and that 1 percent could be everything if its in the swing states. In the end, the reason why Kennedy was drawing 10, 12, even as high as 14 percent is because he was taking votes away from Joe Biden. Joe Bidens gone. Kamala Harris has replaced him, and [Kennedys] vote collapsed down to about 4 or 5 percent and whats left is a Trump vote.
Luntz further elaborated, Some of them are simply not going to participate in November, roughly two to one, the ones who are remaining will vote for Trump over Harris, and thats worth a single percent, and a single percent can make the difference in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. This analysis comes in the wake of a recent poll from Cook Political Report Swing State Project, which showed Harris either leading or tied with Trump in six out of seven swing states. The poll also indicated a 1-point lead for Harris over Trump in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Luntz also criticized the media's portrayal of Kennedy's endorsement, stating, If he had endorsed Harris, I do think he would be regarded as a hero but because he endorsed Trump, the people who are communicating that are not giving him the credit that he deserves, and I think we have to be careful in the last 73 days of this election campaign to understand the motivations of the people providing us information like what Im doing right now, because I am dedicated to getting this election correct.
The pollster also pointed out that Trump could gain an upper hand if he focused his campaign on issues such as immigration and inflation. However, if the race becomes about character traits, Harris might have the advantage. If it is about attributes, if he continues to attack Harris in the way that he has done, and he gets away from inflation, which is really affordability, stops talking about paycheck-to-paycheck voters, which is better than working class or middle class, the language does matter here, if he does that, he is in the drivers seat.
Kennedy, who initially began his campaign as a Democrat, switched his party affiliation to run as an Independent in October. Despite holding double-digit support in the polls, his voter base dwindled when Harris replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket. Last Friday, Kennedy suspended his campaign and officially endorsed Trump. This move, as per Luntz's analysis, could prove to be a game-changer in the upcoming elections.
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