On Saturday, Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) predicted that former President Donald Trump will win Virginia during a Women for Trump rally in Charlottesville. Speaking at the event held at Trump Winery by Rally Virginia, Stefanik’s prediction came amid polling showing a tight race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, the latter of whom has been working to regain Democratic support in Virginia, which was reportedly a factor in President Joe Biden’s decision not to seek reelection.
Stefanik also noted that a reporter had incorrectly described Virginia as a “blue state” in an interview conducted before the rally. Prompting cheers from the crowd, “I reminded them we have a Republican governor in Virginia, we have a Republican attorney general in Virginia. We’ve got congressional seats in Virginia.” Referring to the polling, she said, “President Trump is polling within the margin of error, [and] we are going to win Virginia. You are hearing it here first.”
As one of the National Chairs of Women for Trump, it was an honor to headline the @Rally_Virginia Women for Trump rally today in Charlottesville, Virginia. ?? ?? ??
The oft-asked question about balancing work and family life is: Can women have it all? Under President… pic.twitter.com/dyVlzQNi3P
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) September 21, 2024
A striking new poll released Friday reveals that Trump is making significant inroads into states that Democrats had expected to hold firm through November. In a head-to-head matchup, Trump is trailing Harris by only 2% in Virginia, despite the state’s Democratic stronghold with prominent figures like Sen. Tim Kaine and former governor Terry McAuliffe, and a progressive base in the wealthy suburbs of Loudoun County. The University of Mary Washington poll indicates that Trump’s standing is well within the 3.7% margin of error. With the inclusion of potential third-party candidates such as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Harris’s lead narrows to just 1%.
Polling was conducted between September 3rd and 9th, and do not indicate a surge of sympathy for Trump following the recent assassination attempt. Harris, along with President Joe Biden and other top Democrats, have struggled to respond effectively, denouncing violence while continuing to label Trump as a “threat to democracy.” Notably, the would-be shooter, Ryan Wesley Routh, had previously donated exclusively to prominent Democratic politicians, adding complexity to the situation.
Speaking at the event, Stefanik said the 2024 presidential election will be unlike any other. “We say every election is the most important election of our lifetime but this one really is,” said the New Yorker and No. 3 Republican in the House, who later described the event’s turnout as “incredible” in a post to the social media platform X. She noted further at the rally: “Women are going to make our voices heard to Virginia from New York that we will save this country by electing President Trump.”
The representative also argued women should vote for Trump based on his economic record, which she noted included an “historic number of women in the workforce, wage increases, salary increases for working women,” as well as a doubling of the child tax credit. She also noted: “He is a pro-family, pro-women president.”
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