Jim Messina, who previously managed President Barack Obama’s campaign, has voiced concern over the preliminary voting numbers for Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign. This concern stems from a noticeable increase in early Republican votes.
What Happened: Messina, while appearing on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki” on Sunday, disclosed that the initial voting figures are somewhat “alarming” for the Harris campaign. As reported by The Hill, he highlighted that Republicans are voting early at a higher rate than in previous elections, which could potentially impact the vote distribution on election night.
Messina stated, “Republicans didn’t do what they did last time. Last time, Trump said, ‘Don’t early vote.’ And so they didn’t. Republicans do have an advantage in early vote numbers. When the early vote comes in, it’s going to look a little bit different than 2020, and that’s scary.”
Despite these concerns, Messina remains hopeful about the turnout for Harris among young voters and women. He said, “Women voters make up 55 percent of the early voters, and in the past 10 days, young voters in these battleground states are coming out — in what looks to be, for early vote, historic numbers — and that makes the Harris campaign very, very happy.”
However, he conceded that the early voting figures have induced some anxiety among Harris’s supporters. “The Republicans have done a better job than they did last time on early vote,” he noted.
According to the University of Florida’s Election Lab, over 78 million early votes have been cast in the 2024 election.
Why It Matters: The 2024 election has been forecasted as a close race between Trump and Harris. Online prediction markets have shown fluctuating trends, with Trump regaining an edge over Harris on the final day before the election.
Messina had previously dismissed early election speculations as “silly” in November.
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