Trump, Vance to campaign in Michigan after second assassination attempt
Michigan voters likely aren't feeling overlooked, as campaigns continue to flock to the key battleground state as the calendar nears November and the presidential election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump draws closer.
Tuesday will see both Trump and his running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, campaigning in Michigan. First, Vance will hold a rally in Kent County in the afternoon before Trump holds an evening town hall in Flint.
Opinion polling of voters in Michigan currently shows a near deadlock between Trump and Harris — the RealClearPolling average has Harris leading by 0.7 percentage points.
Like the current polling average, election results in Michigan are expected to be close this fall. Michigan is one of a handful of battleground states expected to be vital to deciding the outcome of the Nov. 5 election, having been won by Trump in 2016 before being flipped by President Joe Biden in 2020.
Trump holding town hall in Flint after second assassination attempt
Trump, the Republican nominee, will hold a town hall meeting in Flint Tuesday evening.
It's expected to be the first public event Trump holds after an apparent assassination attempt targeted him while he golfed in Florida on Sunday. Trump said on social media he was safe and unharmed, while law enforcement stopped the alleged gunman later on Sunday.
It was the second time in a little more than two months that a gunman targeted Trump — in July, a gunman fired at Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Michigan also hosted the first public campaign event after the Butler shooting, when Trump and Vance rallied with supporters in Grand Rapids.
It's unclear how the Sunday attempt will affect Tuesday's planned event in Flint, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Dort Financial Center in Flint. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who served as Trump's press secretary during his time in the White House, is slated to moderate the town hall.
Trump's last Michigan visit was to Eaton County's Potterville on Aug. 29.
Vance heads to key swing county
But before Trump's town hall is slated to begin in Flint, Vance will hold a rally with supporters Tuesday afternoon in Sparta, a village of around 4,200 residents about ten miles north of Grand Rapids.
Sparta is located in Kent County — a west Michigan county that once represented a reliable core for Republican candidates but has become much more competitive in recent elections.
Kent County is considered a vital battleground in presidential elections. Trump won it in 2016, while Biden carried the county four years later. Since 2008, every presidential candidate who won Kent County ultimately won Michigan, except Mitt Romney in 2012.
Vance has made multiple visits to Kent County previously — along with the Grand Rapids rally with Trump in July, he also delivered remarks in Byron Township, a suburb of Grand Rapids, in August.
The Harris campaign is aware of Kent County's importance to Michigan, as well. Vance's counterpart on the Democratic ticket, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, rallied with supporters in Grand Rapids on Thursday.
Harris will be in Michigan this week, too
Harris, who replaced Biden as the Democratic nominee after the president ended his reelection campaign in July, is also slated to visit the Great Lakes State this week.
The Harris campaign confirmed on Monday that Harris would be joined by TV host, producer and author Oprah Winfrey for a livestreamed broadcast from Michigan Thursday evening.
The event with Winfrey does not appear to be open to the public.
Harris' most recent visit to Michigan came on Labor Day, where she spoke about unions in Detroit.
Given Michigan's importance to the electoral map this fall, it's near-certain presidential campaigns and candidates will continue to flock to the battleground state in the weeks leading up to the November election.
Contact Arpan Lobo: [email protected]
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Donald Trump, JD Vance to hold events in Michigan on Tuesday