Minnesota, New Jersey, Virginia, and other traditional Democrat strongholds in presidential elections are now in play for Donald Trump, according to John McLaughlin, a pollster for the former president's campaign.
"When you look at those states — Minnesota, the Trump campaign rarely releases our polls, but they released a poll we did in mid-June where we were up four points in Minnesota," McLaughlin told CNN's "Inside Politics" on Wednesday at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. "That's with [Robert F. Kennedy Jr.] in it.
"Now in New Jersey, you've seen polls that [have] been published, polls where we're up a point, and you saw the turnout in Wildwood."
McLaughlin was referring to Trump's rally in Wildwood, New Jersey, where a reported 100,000 people attended. The last Republican to win New Jersey was Geore H.W. Bush in 1988. George W. Bush was the last to win Virginia in 2004. Richard Nixon was the last to win Minnesota in 1972.
"You look at Virginia, and I've polled there over the years for Sen. [George] Allen and Gov. [Jim] Gilmore, etc., we are back to where we are getting like a fifth of the African American vote," McLaughlin said. "We are winning where the military is, in Norfolk, because they are tired of a weak America. There was a VCU poll that came out, had us ahead in Virginia.
"There are other states coming in place. So, the map is getting much larger."
McLaughlin further talked about inroads the campaign is making with Black voters. Trump gained just 8% of the Black vote in 2020 and 12% in 2016.
"You are seeing Joe Biden where 30% of African-American voters disapprove of the job he is doing, and in that, Donald Trump is drifting up where all of a sudden, you saw what happened when we went to the Bronx," McLaughlin said, referring to a rally Trump had in the Democrat stronghold that reportedly drew a crowd of 25,000.
"You saw the outreach that we were having. The crowds we are getting in Georgia. He is going to Michigan again. You saw the reception he got in Michigan. We are getting a fifth of the black vote; our last national poll, we had 21% of African-American votes."