4 NOVEMBER 2020
Trump, Republican Attempts to Weaponize Immigration in Michigan Fails to Mobilize Voters Against Biden and Peters
MICHIGAN — Despite driving an aggressive and targeted anti-immigrant messaging strategy in one of the most consequential battlegrounds of the 2020 election, President Trump was rejected by Michigan voters who delivered the president a critical loss in a key battleground — as Democrats Joe Biden and incumbent Sen. Gary Peters won their races, turning Michigan blue. The defeat illustrates that voters moved away from Trump, including on issues like immigration — which Trump used to clench a victory in the state in 2016, but which failed to resonate with swing voters this year.
“Trump and Republicans attempted to use immigration as a wedge issue against Democrats to gain critical voters,” stated Tyler Moran, Executive Director of the Immigration Hub. “In a hotly contested state decided by a relatively small margin, Trump’s strategy clearly failed. A multiracial majority in critical counties — galvanized by a strong progressive movement — emerged in support of a new vision for the country, swinging the pendulum in favor of both Vice President Biden and Senator Gary Peters.”
Trump Weaponized Immigration, James Aligned with Trump and the Strategy Failed
Throughout the 2020 election cycle, the Trump campaign made multiple stops in Michigan — where the president continuously made sanctuary cities and “terrorist” refugees a hallmark of his speeches — and deployed an ad strategy combining his signature anti-immigrant attacks with claims about the “radical left”. Bolstered by support from pro-Trump PACs, Michigan voters were inundated with anti-immigrant rhetoric, including 36 anti-immigrant ads wielded against Biden, Senator Peters, Hillary Scholten (MI-03) and Elissa Slotkin (MI-08).
Nationally, between September 26 to October 17 alone, ads with anti-immigrant rhetoric made up 20% of the $7 million worth of attack ads against Biden.
The campaign spent millions more on immigration in TV ads and other online platforms such as Youtube, targeting the state.
Trump spent $9 million more deploying anti-immigration ads on television, making the issue Trump’s second highest expense behind his spending on the issue of China.
In October, several outside groups - including designated hate groups NumbersUSA and FAIR - deployed their own digital campaign to attack immigrants in support of Trump’s reelection efforts.
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The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigration policies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.