Longtime politico and current Republican National Convention delegate Henry Barbour has seen a lot in the political world. In the lead-up to the battle for president between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump, he says 2024’s campaign collision is unprecedented.
A multitude of landmark turning points have commanded headlines since early this year, including two assassination attempts on Trump, President Joe Biden stepping out of the race in favor of his vice president, and both sides surging at different times. Barbour believes the resulting thunderous public discourse will lead to a big turnout at the polls next Tuesday.
“This might be the craziest election cycle I think I’ve ever seen – the quickest changes,” Barbour told The Gallo Show. “There’s a lot of noise. What are voters going to think of all this? Are they going to turn out? I think they will.”
Most polls show razor-thin margins in battleground states like North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. A similar lack of separation in the 2020 presidential election led to the race not officially being called until the Saturday after Election Day.
“Everybody better be patient,” Barbour noted. “If this is a close race, we’re not going to know on election night.”
Preeminent polls, such as Atlas and Real Clear Politics, show a recent surge for the Trump campaign but margins remain razor-thin in seven battleground states. For example, RCP poll averages show Harris or Trump with a lead of less than one percentage point in four of the seven swing states.
“This is going to be close,” Barbour concluded. “This is going to be about turnout.”
