Kamala Harris campaigns even less than Hillary Clinton, while Trump still visits fourteen cities
Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned in fewer cities in September and October than failed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton did in 2016.
Axios released a report on Wednesday chronicles where Harris and former President Donald Trump spent time on the campaign trail — with Harris hosting events in 43 cities and Trump traveling to 57.
Harris visited just one more city in 2020 than President Joe Biden — who limited his travel due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump has also actually scaled back his travels — as he went to 64 locations four years ago, despite the COVID risk associated with holding large gatherings.
Eight years ago, Trump went to 92 cities, while Clinton visited only 46.
Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to fourteen fewer cities in September and October than former President Donald Trump. But more campaign trips haven’t always led to victory
Clinton’s loss was partly due to the fact that she did not believe the so-called “blue wall” states – Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania – were competitive.
She never visited Wisconsin once.
Trump flipped all three to win the White House, while Biden won them all back as part of his 2020 victory.
The high point for campaign travel was set in 2008 by then-Senator Barack Obama.
During that cycle, the Democratic candidate traveled to 96 cities, while his rival, Republican Senator John McCain, also traveled extensively, reaching 93 cities.
Obama traveled to far fewer cities four years later during his reelection bid against now Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, then a former governor of Massachusetts.
That year, Obama traveled to 51 cities as the sitting president, while Romney went to 80 cities.
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton campaigns in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the final night of her doomed 2016 campaign. She traveled to far fewer cities than her rival, Republican Donald Trump
Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris (left) follows former President Donald Trump (right) in making stops on the campaign trail, going to fewer cities than even 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton
There appears to be no real correlation between more campaign stops and a White House victory.
Although Obama’s tough campaign likely contributed to his 2008 victory, he also defeated Romney, who visited many more American cities.
And although Trump won a shock victory in 2016 over Clinton, a former first lady, senator and secretary of state, his tougher campaign schedule during the pandemic did not help him win reelection four years later.
Modern campaigns are taking place online and on television as well as on the ground, with both Trump and Harris looking to unique avenues, such as popular podcasts, to get their messages across.
They’ve also traveled to out-of-game states to make an impact — like Trump taking over Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sunday and Harris heading to Texas to join Beyonce to discuss abortion rights.
The count does not include events in the city where the candidates live, so Harris’ speech Tuesday night on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., was not included.