Joe Biden’s Campaign Manager Warns Race Is ‘Far Closer’ than Many Believe

Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden’s campaign manager is warning supporters not to treat his victory in the upcoming general election as a given.

Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, who has led the former vice president’s campaign since the primaries, took to social media Wednesday to encourage individuals to keep investing time and resources behind Biden’s effort in the closing weeks of the general election. In making her pitch, O’Malley Dillon admitted that although the campaign was doing well not only in the polls, but also financially, it did not mean victory was assured.

“Early voting is already underway in many states. Millions of voters have already cast their ballots,” she wrote. “But there is still a long way to go in this campaign, and we think this race is far closer than folks on this website think. Like a lot closer.”

Now: Early voting is already underway in many states. Millions of voters have already cast their ballots. But there is still a long way to go in this campaign, and we think this race is far closer than folks on this website think. Like a lot closer. (4/?)

— Jen O'Malley Dillon (@jomalleydillon) October 15, 2020

O’Malley Dillon’s suggestion that the race is “far closer” than many believe, comes as GOP voter registration efforts have narrowed advantages for Democrats in numerous swing states.

In Pennsylvania, which President Donald Trump won narrowly four years ago, the GOP has seen its support grow substantially.

According to a voter registration report released in June by Pennsylvania’s Department of State, Republicans added 258,705 new registrants between December 2015 and December 2019. Over the same period, in comparison, Democrats only gained 85,779 new registrants.

The GOP’s success has narrowed the Democrats’ voter advantage in Pennsylvania to just slightly more than 710,000 voters. Although that split seems large, Democrats had an even larger registration advantage in 2016 when Trump bested former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the state by just 44,292 votes out of more than six million ballots. Trump’s margin of victory, narrow though it was, made him the first Republican to carry Pennsylvania since President George H.W. Bush’s 1988 landslide.

Recent polls also show that the GOP’s investment in voter registration might be paying off. A survey released by the Trafalgar Group on Tuesday found Trump and Biden statistically tied in the Keystone State.