On October 28th, Jim Merrill, well-known in the New Hampshire political realm, addressed the Rotary Club of Nashua regarding, the elections coming up next week. Jim has worked on numerous presidential campaigns, including Mitt Romney’s and Marco Rubio’s.
Concerning the Presidential Election, there are many unique aspects to this year’s race. Jim highlighted that as of today (October 28, 2024), we are effectively in a tied race. Harris has been fading, partly because she has not defined herself as being different than President Biden. Trump has become more trusted on the issues of immigration and the economy. He also has tapped on more rural and male voters to help his campaign.
With a week until the election, Jim does not expect us to see an “October Surprise” that changes the election at the last minute. Jim noted that almost 41 million Americans have already voted via early voting. He highlighted the 7 battleground states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania) and how close the race is in these states.
Concerning New Hampshire politics, Jim highlighted that the race for New Hampshire’s Congressional representatives is likely to favor the Democrats, while in the Governor’s race Kelly Ayotte has lead since the primary.