“Late to the game”: Trump and Virginia Republicans rally for early voters ahead of Election Day

Despite former President Donald Trump’s previous opposition to voting ahead of Election Day, he, alongside other Virginia Republicans, encouraged attendees to vote early during a Chesterfield County campaign rally on Saturday.

The rally was headlined by Republican National Convention co-chair Lara Trump and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who told supporters to bring their friends, family and other potential voters to the polls.

“It’s very low propensity Republican voters that are going to the polls more this year than on the Democrat side,” said Virginia state Sen. Glen Sturtevant, who described Republicans as “late to the game” when it comes to early voting.

Low propensity voters are traditionally those who are registered to vote but have infrequently participated in past elections. 

Dee Dee Van Buren, the chair of the Chesterfield County Republican Committee, noted that people can vote through provisional ballots on Election Day, even if they were not registered ahead of time. 

The rally included speeches from Virginia Republican candidates in the upcoming elections, including Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who is running for governor, Senate candidate Hung Cao, and Rep. Rob Wittman, who is running for the Virginia 1st Congressional District. Donald Trump called into the rally and spoke to the crowd.

The call, which lasted roughly 10 minutes, included remarks on current immigration policy, warnings of a third World War and a promise to “end inflation.”

“If we win Virginia, it’s over,” Trump said. He added that the state is still “in play” in 2024.

Trump said this year’s Election Day will be “the most important day in the history of our country.” 

The event, which started with a prayer saying Americans are asking for a miracle in the next 10 days, was attended by hundreds of people, with many wearing red shirts saying “Trump Force Captain.” 

Stephanie L. Zemanek, Chairman at the Young Republican Federation of Virginia, said the “Trump Force Captain” merchandise was given out to enhance the ground campaign.

“They have Trump Force Captains in each precinct, organizing volunteers, knocking doors and being on the ground for the Trump campaign,” Zemanek said.

Crowds erupted in chants of  “10 more days” as various speakers tossed merchandise at the audience. 

Wittman, the first speaker of the event, said 165,000 people have voted early in the Congressional 1st District. 

“This is as clear of a choice that we have ever seen in the history of this nation,” he said. 

Midlothian resident Sandy Foglesong said she believes Wittman is concerned about all the Virginian people, rather than just using tax dollars to “have programs and policies nobody wants.” 

“Not just the [northern Virginia] people, not just the Norfolk people, but everyone in Virginia,” Foglesong said. 

Despite attempts to interview multiple staffers from the Wittman campaign, all of them refused to be interviewed at the rally. 

During Cao’s speech, he said Virginians were asking if they are better off today than they were four years ago, to which he was met with a sea of rallygoers chanting “no”.

“If you’re saying yes, there’s a couple of ICE agents waiting for you outside,” Cao said teasingly.

Lara Trump encouraged the audience to “protect the ballot” and make the election “too big to rig.”

“We are never going to repeat the mistakes of the 2020 election ever again,” she said. 

According to a Washington Post-Schar School of Public Policy Poll from this week, Vice President Kamala Harris leads Trump by 6 points among likely voters in Virginia.

“Not even an assassin’s bullet is enough to stop [Donald Trump],” Lara Trump said.