By Kenneth Tran
Granite State News Collaborative
Photo by Kenneth Tran, GSNC
ROCHESTER — With less than a week before the election, President Donald Trump's campaign surrogates are making a push in New Hampshire.
Mick Mulvaney, former acting White House chief of staff, was among those making a campaign stop in Rochester Wednesday. He was joined by South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, 2016 Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and Republican National Committee co-chair Tommy Hicks and local former congressional candidate Eddie Edwards.
Arriving on a rainy day to a small but enthusiastic crowd, the group echoed Trump’s campaign messages.
“What we understand is freedom of the press, the freedom of speech, and the Second Amendment," Corey Lewandowski said, imploring the audience to vote for Trump.
In 2016 when he won the election, Trump narrowly lost New Hampshire to then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by a margin of about 2,700 votes. The Trump campaign is looking to take New Hampshire this time, sending several campaign surrogates in the last month, including a visit by Vice President Mike Pence in Portsmouth.
“The president could win New Hampshire,” Noem said. “That’s why we’re here carrying his message of the fact that everything that he would do four years ago, he’s done/”
Former Vice President Joe Biden is currently leading Trump by about 10 points in New Hampshire polls.
Lewandowski said Trump’s appreciation for New Hampshire and frequent stops, most recently in Manchester, could change the polls.
“Donald Trump was here on Sunday, Joe Biden has not been here since he has been the Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris has not been here,” Lewandowski said, “Not one surrogate from the Democratic party has been to the state of New Hampshire. They’ve taken this state for granted.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar visited Dover and other New Hampshire locations Tuesday in support of Biden and other Democratic figures have visited the state, too.
Noem said she believes New Hampshire will flip to red.
“You look at the enthusiasm . . . thousands of people showing up, just here in the street corner in New Hampshire, people are so excited,” Noem said. “We haven’t seen that kind of excitement for Joe Biden anywhere in this country. People . . . will make sure Donald Trump is sent to the White House with the help of people in New Hampshire.”
Kenneth Tran is an Election SOS fellow. These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information visit collaborativenh.org.