NORFOLK, Va. — Both candidates vying for the presidential seat hope to get Virginians on their side.
“If you look at the polling data, in particular the polling data in Virginia, is a lot of voters don’t seem particularly enthusiastic about either candidate,” said Virginia Wesleyan University Political Science Associate Professor Dr. Leslie Caughell.
This means their presence is vital here in the Commonwealth.
“Hampton Roads carries a huge amount of weight,” Caughell said. “It’s really important for presidential candidates who want to carry the state to be focused on those population centers where there are voters who voted for Trump and then voted for Biden.”
She said we’re seeing both campaigns ramp up, hoping to get voters to the polls. She said what motivates people to vote is excitement from their candidate and "fear trepidation" about the other.
“You’re going to see both a good deal of candidates and a lot of campaign surrogates visiting areas where they feel that they need to be competitive,” she said.
She said to expect to see more campaign surrogates in the months leading up to Election Day. More importantly, she said visits from the Biden and Trump campaigns just a day apart in Hampton Roads means both candidates are watching each other.
“If the Trump campaign is coming to Hampton Roads, they’re playing into the idea that Virginia is competitive, they’re drawing attention to Joe Biden’s weakness in the state,” she said. “Having President Biden or Dr. Jill Biden here allows the Biden campaign to counter that narrative, generate their own media coverage.”
Caughell said the number of campaign offices a candidate has may not be impactful for Virginia voters. She said that more so plays a role in swing states.
"If you're talking about a place like Pennsylvania or Michigan or Wisconsin, those offices, how they're staffed, where they're located, the number of people working there all of that matters," she said. "In a place like Virginia that I don't think is likely as competitive, I doubt that matters quite as much."