Pollster Matt Towery responded to new polls indicating that former President Donald Trump is trending upward against Vice President Kamala Harris during an interview with FOX News host Laura Ingraham on Monday. Towery discussed Trump’s increasing support among black and Hispanic voters, despite significant spending by Democrats on Latino outreach efforts. The pollster also described the responses of President Biden and Trump to Hurricane Helene as “a major inflection” point in the campaign.
“Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin [D-Mich.] says Kamala is, quote, underwater in the state, and Slotkin is not feeling her best right now about Kamala’s chances there. I know, Matt, lots of polls have come out. A lot of people, you know, they approach me at sporting events, and they’re like, what’s going to happen? I have no idea what’s going to happen. But why is Slotkin concerned tonight, Matt?” Ingraham asked to kick off the segment.
“Well, let me tell you why they’re concerned. I’ve looked at polling that I’ve been privy to, and I’ll probably be public in the next few days. Trump is trending up in almost every single battleground state. Almost every one. And when you ask the question, how are your neighbors going to vote? You have very shy Trump voters sometimes,” he began.
“Those numbers explode. And I’ve not seen this in ages. And you know me. I’m usually Mr. Doom and Gloom for the Republicans and Trump. But right now, I am seeing a true shift in public sentiment, not just in Michigan and Pennsylvania. I’m seeing it in Nevada, as a matter of fact,” Towery continued. “There’s been a turnaround there. The only problem child right now is Georgia, and that’s because the Republicans, you have two groups, traditionalist Republicans who go way back. They’re not feeling the groove with Trump right now.
“It’s the more new-come Republicans and those who live in the exurbs and down in those areas that were hit by this storm. Let me add one last thing. Thank you for talking about the storm,” he said. “I live in the center of it in St. Petersburg, Florida. I have neighbors left and right who lost their homes. So, thank you for focusing on it. It has been a brutal week for everyone in the southeast. And by the way, that storm affected Republican areas, and I’m just saying demographically, all the way up, basically majority Republican other than Asheville. So what effect that’s going to have on turnout, I have no earthly idea.”
Towery then discussed Trump’s inroads with black and Hispanic voters: “Democrats are outspending the Republicans big time on the big Hispanic Latino networks and radio stations. But yet, Trump is continuing to trend up. I’ll tell you another thing he’s trending back up in, and that’s African-American voters. We’re looking in these various battleground states. When Harris first got into the race, he dropped down to like the standard Republican 7, 8, 10 percent. He’s bouncing right back up to 22, 23, 24 percent.”
He concluded: “So this is an amazing — I’m seeing a shift. And I’ll tell you, these prognosticators with their with these models that they have that have been wrong, by the way, each presidential election, they had this thing spreading wide open for Harris. They better rethink their models because this thing is closing and is closing with Trump having momentum, at least with the 30-something days we have left.”
Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.