A top volunteer for Donald Trump in Massachusetts was dropped by the campaign after he predicted certain defeat for the former president in neighboring New Hampshire.
In an email to other volunteers, former Massachusetts GOP official Tom Mountain wrote that the campaign had “determined that New Hampshire is no longer a battleground state,” and is ‘pulling back” to turn their attention to Pennsylvania instead, The Boston Globe reported.
Mountain claimed the campaign has been forced to “shift strategy” after Vice-President Kamala Harris replaced Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket.
“So for those who were active in the NH ground campaign in 2016 and 2020, and expected to do the same after Labor Day, the simple question is… what are we to do? GO TO PENNSYLVANIA,” he wrote.
In the email obtained by the Boston Globe, Mountain also wrote that Trump is on track to lose the state “by an even higher margin” than 2016 and 2020.
In 2016, Trump lost New Hampshire to Hillary Clinton by 0.3% and in 2020 Joe Biden defeated Trump by more than 7 points in the state.
Brian Hughes, senior advisor to the Trump campaign, told the Boston Globe that Mountain was not a top volunteer and that “he will no longer have any involvement going forward” due to “this ridiculous misrepresentation of our ongoing operation in New Hampshire.”
“President Trump’s campaign maintains an on-the-ground presence in New Hampshire, including staff and offices,” Hughes added. “We look forward to building on the momentum that we have grown since the primary and sending New Hampshire’s four electoral votes to President Trump’s column on November 5.”
Harris currently leads Trump by 5 points in the Granite State, according to RealClearPolitics polling averages.
