In-Person Rallies Or Virtual Events: Presidential Campaigns Making Different Choices So Far During Coronavirus Pandemic
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - With 57 days left until the November election, the campaigns for President all the way down to local races are beginning their final push to get people to the polls.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Republicans and Democrats have chosen different methods of campaigning.
The campaign styles of President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden are as different as their messaging and policies.
The President prefers rallies while the former Vice President, until last week when he began traveling and holding in-person events, has preferred virtual meetings from his home.
Abhi Rahman, Communications Director of the Texas Democratic Party said they're following the science.
"We're listening to doctors and scientists. They're the ones who have been saying to stay at home. They're the ones who have been saying that it's not safe right now to have huge in person rallies. So I think voters appreciate Joe Biden's commitment to safety. They appreciate him listening to doctors and experts."
Democratic candidates in Texas have primarily held Zoom calls and other virtual meetings while the Texas Republican candidates are holding in-person gatherings.
On Friday, the Trump campaign held a two day bus tour from San Antonio to Bedford.
Senior Trump campaign advisor Katrina Pierson, a former Tea Party leader in Garland, said people want to get back to normal.
"What we're doing here today just shows the President's commitment. He's already committed to having a vaccine for COVID and he wants to get back to normal. He wants states to open, he wants kids back in school, so we're out here leading on this issue."
Republicans say they also continue to put in the hard work to get people to the polls.
Brad Parscale, another Senior Advisor to the Trump Campaign, said they have worked since the President's inauguration to get people to the polls this year.
"The operation over the last few years that the President has built with one of the largest ground games in history: Millions of volunteers, tens of thousands of neighborhood team leaders, doing millions of door knocks right now, tens of millions of phone calls, that kind of activity is going to play a difference in turning out the vote."
Texas Democrats say last week, they reached out to one point three million people asking them to register to vote.
Rahman said, "I think it might be the difference between winning and losing, this might be the biggest thing that we do on election cycle. We know that to win this election, we have to fundamentally give people the resources they need to vote. Because when more people vote, Democrats do much better."
The President maintains a 3.5 point lead in the Real Clear Politics average of polls in Texas.
The same organization says Biden maintains a seven point lead nationally, but his lead in battleground states is narrowing.
SMU political science professor Matthew Wilson said active and engaged voters for both candidates are already motivated and won't need the extra push that a campaign rally or another in-person event such as a knock on the door provides.
But he said it could be a different story for the more casual voter who's not energized by either the President or Mr. Biden.
"That's an advantage for the party that has done that engagement. Now, that's not going to massively flip elections. That's not going to make up a ten point deficit in the polls. But if you're in a close race that could go either way, that extra level of personal engagement could make the difference."
Wilson also said in-person campaign events have historically helped candidates down the ballot.
"Traditionally, it's been assumed that doing that shoe leather work that is pounding the pavement, doing the door knocks, by engaging voters in a one on one basis, would yield results. That's why campaigns always do that."
Unlike past years, there is no more straight-ticket balloting in Texas.
This year, people must cast a vote for each candidate.
