ROOKE: Republicans’ Latest Swing State Win Is The Last Thing Democrats Want Right Now

The Trump campaign just won a major victory that should scare Democrats hoping to see a drop in Republican voter turnout.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) and former President Donald Trump’s campaign prevailed in a lawsuit Wednesday against Bucks County, Pennsylvania, to extend early voting by three days.

Trump’s campaign filed the lawsuit Tuesday alleging voter suppression after viral videos of supporters complaining that they were turned away from their polling places despite being in line to vote by 5:00 pm. The original deadline to vote early in person in Pennsylvania ended Oct. 29, but the court’s ruling means that the state has to extend its early voting until Nov.1.

Pennsylvanians: we hear you and we have filed a lawsuit. Now get out and VOTE for President Trump! pic.twitter.com/pF7jQIgWG2

— Michael Whatley (@ChairmanWhatley) October 30, 2024

The RNC chairman, Michael Whatley, announced the win on X, promising that the GOP “will keep fighting” and asking voters to “stay in line.” (ROOKE: Trump’s Greatest Campaign Surrogate Is Single-Handedly Crushing Harris’ Momentum)

“PENNSYLVANIA LAWSUIT VICTORY We just won the Trump Campaign/RNC lawsuit against Bucks County, PA,” Whatley said. “We will now have extended early in-person mail-voting through November 1st — three extra days. We will keep fighting. Go vote! Stay in line!”

PENNSYLVANIA LAWSUIT VICTORY

We just won the Trump Campaign/RNC lawsuit against Bucks County, PA.

We will now have extended early in-person mail-voting through November 1st — three extra days.

We will keep fighting. Go vote! Stay in line!

— Michael Whatley (@ChairmanWhatley) October 30, 2024

The RNC promised to be more proactive in protecting voter integrity in 2024 after the chaos during the 2020 election. It claims to have hired thousands of lawyers deployed across the country to ensure they can quickly adjudicate election issues that arise. This win means three extra days for Republicans to increase the early voter turnout they need in order for Trump to win the critical swing state.

I spoke to a former party official a while back who told me that the biggest problem in 2020 was not having poll watchers and lawyers on standby ready to call bs and file suits immediately. Since, the party has adjusted to do such and it appears to be paying off. https://t.co/geFoq1Qepj

— Reagan Reese (@reaganreese_) October 30, 2024

The Real Clear Polling average has Trump up over Harris by just 0.7%, making Pennsylvania a true toss-up state. Republicans shortened the gap in voter registrations since the last presidential election, however, making it a more challenging win for Democrats than when President Joe Biden won the state in 2020. (ROOKE: These Are The Early Results That Will Tell Us The Winner On Election Night)

DecisionDeskHQ author Michael Pruser reported that Tuesday’s Pennsylvania early voting data showed Republicans outvoted Democrats for the first time since early voting began. “Philadelphia was one of the big three way out in front in returns. Now Philadelphia is well behind in returns and it doesn’t appear it has anything to do with a processing delay. Without Philly pulling it’s weight, Republicans are likely to finish ahead in overall return rate,” Pruser said.

Part of the reason the margin is closing quickly in PA is the return rate in Philadelphia.

If you remember, early on, Philadelphia was one of the big three way out in front in returns. Now Philadelphia is well behind in returns and it doesn’t appear it has anything to do with a…

— Michael Pruser (@MichaelPruser) October 30, 2024

As of Tuesday, 1.55 million votes had been cast, roughly 23% of the expected electorate, according to Pruser. Democrats currently have a 380,043 vote lead over Republicans, which is considerably lower than at this same time in 2020 when Democrats had a 1.1 million vote lead.

The RNC’s win gives Republicans three more days to close the gaps and increase their voter turnout before election day, which should scare Democrats who needed low Republican returns. While Harris is still in the race to win Pennsylvania, it looks like she won’t be able to count on Philadelphia to pull her over the edge in the same way it did for Biden. This lawsuit might be the final momentum shift Trump needed to secure him Pennsylvania’s 19 Electoral College votes.