Christian Smith
CNN’s Van Jones said a series of key state polls showing former President Trump with a lead over President Biden in five of six key states should be a “wake-up call” for Democrats.
The New York Times survey published on Monday found Trump with a slight lead in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and with significant leads in Nevada, Arizona and Georgia.
Jones said the results could be attributed to younger voters turning against Biden.
“It should be a wake-up call,” Jones said. “Young people are upset. And it’s not just the situation in Gaza. The economic prospects for young people are miserable.”
“We simply don’t have a path for young people to pay off their student debt and get a home,” he continued. “I think we are still not feeling, hearing, a full approach from young people [from Biden]. There is a symbolic piece around student loans. That won’t be enough for Joe Biden.”
Jones added that Biden’s campaign should also double down on courting the black vote in key cities like Milwaukee, Detroit and Philadelphia.
“You have to get to the grassroots level in these major black cities and make sure people are heard by surrogates heard by the campaign and responded to,” he said. “It will be a pitched battle on the ground in the Great Lakes states, in the black towns. And that’s where you should go.”
The network’s polling expert Harry Enten described the poll results as an “absolute disaster” for Biden, pointing out a stark divide between results in Sun Belt states and those closer to the Great Lakes.
Trump has a 13-point lead in Nevada, a 9-point lead in Arizona and a 6-point lead in Georgia, according to the poll.
“The Trump coalition is changing. That’s basically what’s happening here,” Enten said to explain the difference between the results in the Southwest and Midwest.
He said the Trump campaign’s voter base has become increasingly non-white and that increased support among Latino voters, especially, has helped Trump enormously in Nevada and Arizona.
Despite the good signs for Trump, Enten noted that the race is not over yet. If the Times poll was accurate regarding the election results and Biden won all of the states that were very close to call, he would remain in the White House by a slim margin of 270-268 electoral votes.
“The race to 270 is an advantage for Donald Trump, but he has not yet crossed the 270 mark,” Enten said.
Same Times poll finds Democratic state Senate candidates undecided surpassing Biden and leading his Republican Party rivals, adding to what is already expected to be an electrifying election in November.
