Panic sets in as early voting numbers ‘scary’ for Harris, warns former Obama campaign manager

With less than 24 hours until Election Day, panic has set in among Democrats as early voting numbers prove to be “scary” for Kamala Harris, according to Barack Obama’s former campaign manager. In a Sunday interview with MSNBC, Jim Messina said data shows Republicans are making significant gains with early voting in battleground states compared to the 2020 election.

Early voting numbers ‘scary’ for Kamala Harris

During his Inside with Jen Psaki appearance, Messina said that the biggest concern for the Harris campaign ahead of Tuesday's showdown is the early voting numbers. “The early vote numbers are a little scary,” he said before explaining that the Republicans are voting differently this time as opposed to the last time Donald Trump ran for the White House.

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“Republicans didn't do what they did last time,” Messina noted. “Last time, Trump said don't early vote, so they didn't. Republicans do have an advantage in early vote numbers. When the early votes come in, it's going to look a little bit different than 2020, and that's scary,” he continued, adding that the numbers have caused “my friends to call me panicking.” While early voting has traditionally been favoured by the Democratic party, Republicans, too, have pushed voters to cast their ballots early this time.

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Despite the fears surrounding the early voting numbers favouring the Republican candidate, Messina shared that Democrats are content with the early voter turnout in two key demographics that Harris is eyeing—women and young voters. “Women voters make up 55% of the early voters and in the past 10 days, young voters in these battleground states are coming out in what looks to be, for early votes, historic numbers,” he said.