MAINE, USA — While neither presidential candidate has come to Maine yet this election cycle, plenty of their campaigns' family and proxies have. And the campaign trail will continue this weekend in New England for the Biden-Harris campaign, with Doug Emhoff, husband of vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris, hosting events in New Hampshire and Maine on Saturday.
Emhoff, a lawyer who has put his career on hold to support his wife and join the campaign trail, will make two stops in Aroostook County Saturday afternoon for events in Presque Isle and Fort Fairfield.
He'll meet with potato farmers in Blaine "who have been affected by Trump’s trade war" and discuss Biden's "Build Back Better" plan before heading to Fort Fairfield for a "get out the vote" rally with local supporters.
The stops in Maine will come after visits to New Hampshire in the morning for Emhoff more "get out the vote" events in Concord and Manchester.
According to the campaign, Emhoff will join “Vote Now and Volunteer” events in Manchester and Concord with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Reps. Chris Pappas and Annie Kuster, Mayor Joyce Craig, and Democratic nominee for Governor and State Sen. Dan Feltes "to discuss what’s at stake in this election."
Emhoff and local leaders will highlight all of the ways Mainers and Granite Staters can vote in this election, including voting in-person absentee now at their local clerk’s office, dropping off their absentee ballots at their local clerk’s office, or voting in-person on Election Day.
The trip to N.H. comes a day before President Donald Trump is set to host a rally, also planned for Manchester. Vice President Mike Pence held a campaign rally in Portsmouth on Wednesday, and in Hermon, Maine on Monday.
Both the Biden and Trump campaigns have made multiple trips to Maine and N.H. this election. Biden's wife Dr. Jill Biden recently made stops in Orono and Blue Hill for events focused on labor, small businesses, and the lobster industry.
Trump himself has not made a campaign stop in Maine this election, but he toured Puritan Medical Products in Guilford in June.
N.H. is a competitive state, largely known for its moderate politics. In 2016, Democrat Hillary Clinton won the state and claimed its four electoral votes, though the race was tight, separated by just a few thousand votes. The state also went blue for Barack Obama in 2012.
Trump is hoping to flip the state back to red in the 2020 election, though the latest polls put his Democratic challenger former Vice President Joe Biden up between 10 and 15 points.
Like N.H., Maine has just four electoral votes, but both candidates are fighting for every vote possible. During a recent campaign trip to Holden, Trump's oldest son, Don Jr., expressed Maine, specifically the 2nd Congressional District, is important in the election because the state splits electoral college votes. Maine is one of only two states in the country that splits votes, rather than the "winner take all" practice the other 48 states adhere by.
“Everything’s important you never know where things are gonna go," Don Jr. said. "Obviously it’s a crazy sort of electoral map these days, ya know, Maine is one of those states that you have that split—every vote counts, every electoral college vote counts, and we’re gonna go after all of ‘em.”
In 2016, Hillary Clinton claimed Maine's statewide popular vote and the 1st Congressional District, getting her three electoral votes, while Trump won the 2nd Congressional District, gaining one.
This story will be updated when more details about the Maine event are released.
