Idaho and Wyoming are not going to vote for Hillary Clinton this November; the states are about as red as they come. But that is not deterring Clinton's campaign from making a stop there in the form of vice presidential contender Tim Kaine.
But why put in the time? Why not send Kaine to a battleground state instead? Because Clinton wants to make Donald Trump nervous. Very nervous.
"There is no way that, even in a landslide, Idaho and Wyoming turn blue. [But] going to Idaho and Wyoming in the summer is not a bad idea to get fundraisers out of the way and mess with the Trump operation," Monmouth University pollster Patrick Murray told Politico. "I could see this as a combination of, 'Why not go to Wyoming in the summer? It's where the rich people are [on vacation], you can do some fundraising there,' and a head fake against the Trump campaign, which doesn't seem to have an Electoral College strategy. So you could get them to spend resources in a place where they shouldn't."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Kaine has already visited North Carolina, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Missouri this week, and will be stopping in Sun Valley, Idaho, and Jackson, Wyoming, on Thursday. By Tuesday, Kaine will be in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Nashville, Tennessee.
Trump, meanwhile, has requested ad rates in Georgia, Arizona, Indiana, and Missouri, and hired operatives in South Carolina — all states which, in a normal election, would not need to be part of a Republican's defensive strategy.
-
September 28 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include the Jim Comey indictment and Pam Bondi as a the Wicked Witch of the West
-
The Liberal Democrats: on the march?Talking Point After winning their highest number of seats in 2024, can the Lib Dems marry ‘stunts’ with a ‘more focused electoral strategy’?
-
Your Party: a Pythonesque shamblesTalking Point Comical disagreements within Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana's group highlight their precarious position
-
Trump declares new tariffs on drugs, trucks, furnitureSpeed Read He's putting tariffs of 25% on semi trucks, 30% on upholstered furniture, 50% on kitchen and bathroom cabinetry and 100% on certain drugs
-
Amazon reaches ‘historic’ $2.5B Prime settlementspeed read The company allegedly tricked customers into signing up for Prime membership that was then difficult to cancel
-
Trump DOJ indicts Comey, longtime Trump targetSpeed Read The president is using the Justice Department to prosecute his political enemies
-
Gunman kills 1 detainee, wounds 2 at ICE facilitySpeed Read A sniper shot three detainees at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office before fatally shooting himself
-
Trump DOJ reportedly rushing to indict ComeySpeed Read Former FBI Director James Comey oversaw the initial 2016 investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia
-
Man convicted of trying to assassinate TrumpSpeed Read Ryan Routh tried to shoot President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course last September
-
Democrat wins Arizona seat, aiding Epstein driveSpeed Read Democrat Adelita Grijalva beat Republican businessman Daniel Butierez for the House seat in Arizona
-
Trump says Ukraine can win, UN nations ‘going to hell’Speed Read In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, the president criticized the UN and renewable energy, plus made a sudden pivot on the war in Ukraine
