With just seven weeks until Election Day, America PAC, one of the most ambitious, well-funded groups supporting former President Donald J. Trump’s campaign, has switched up its ground game in Arizona and Nevada, two states pivotal to his re-election bid.
The super PAC, which was founded by the billionaire Elon Musk, has cut ties with the canvassing firm it hired to knock on hundreds of thousands of doors and turn out Republican voters. The super PAC’s leadership decided in recent days to replace that firm, the September Group, according to three people with knowledge of the move.
The firm had about 300 paid canvassers combined working on behalf of America PAC in those states, according to two of the people. But the PAC felt the group was not reaching enough voters quickly enough, the people said. The PAC has increased the number of doors it hopes to hit, according to the third person, reflecting the group’s belief that the switch will allow it to scale up and help Mr. Trump in the long run.
Arizona and Nevada are especially difficult for political canvassers working in the summer, given the daytime heat. The firm had knocked on about 250,000 doors in Arizona and about 150,000 doors in Nevada during its three-week engagement.
America PAC plans to try to rehire as many of the canvassers as possible, one of the people said, although it is unclear how many of them will stay under the new management. Some of the canvassers in Nevada, for instance, are already planning to work this week for a different candidate in the state, Sam Brown, the Republican candidate for Senate, said two of the people.
Still, there is precious little time before the election for these changes: Arizona begins early voting on Oct. 9, and Nevada voters can cast ballots as soon as Oct. 19. The super PAC has not been knocking on doors over the past few days in the two states, as the group tries to rebuild its field infrastructure there, two of the people said.
Both America PAC and the September Group declined to comment.
The move is significant because outside groups like Mr. Musk’s are shouldering an unusual amount of work for the Trump cause. The Trump campaign is taking advantage of recent federal election guidance that allows it to coordinate much more closely with super PACs, and America PAC has been central to that strategy. Every tactical shift is being closely watched by Republican insiders, especially those who are concerned about the risks in Mr. Trump’s voter turnout plan that depends on these outside groups.
This week’s change follows a larger shake-up at the super PAC this summer, when America PAC jettisoned In Field Strategies, which effectively ran the entire field campaign for the super PAC after receiving $21 million from the Musk group. After a lull of a few weeks, the super PAC hired new organizers and recently began spending big money again, disbursing $36 million on expenditures to help Republicans over the last month, according to federal filings.
Mr. Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, has been intimately involved in the super PAC’s operation, with plans to donate as much as $180 million to back the Trump effort. It is unclear what role he played in the decision in Arizona and Nevada, although his top aide visited the field operation in Nevada in recent days to get an up-close look at how it was faring, two of the people said.
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