Former President Donald Trump’s campaign is ramping up its presence in Nevada on the airwaves and through volunteer efforts as the race tightens, closing the gap with Democrats’ more established ground game in the Silver State.

The Trump campaign now has five Nevada offices open — four in Southern Nevada and one in Northern Nevada — and is relying on its “Trump Force 47” program to recruit volunteers, a nationwide effort that began in late May. It is hosting weekly events that include door knocking, new volunteer orientation and training on election integrity, and a campaign spokesperson said additional staff hiring is underway.

“For many years, Americans have asked where can I help and the answer has not always been clear,” a campaign spokesperson wrote. “This year we have an answer, and it is to sign up at Trump Force 47 to get involved.”

Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) have held public events in Las Vegas in the past month, and pro-Trump advertising in Nevada has recently skyrocketed, though Republicans have not reserved any ad space beyond the week of Sept. 3, while Democrats have reserved more than $14 million worth of space through the election.

In the past four weeks, pro-Trump groups have spent $9.7 million on ads airing in Nevada, while pro-Democratic groups have spent $10.2 million, according to AdImpact, an ad-tracking organization. Before Biden dropped out, Democrats spent more than $21 million on presidential election ads in Nevada, while Republicans spent about $2 million.

It all signals the Trump campaign’s heightened focus on Nevada and its six electoral votes after it reportedly viewed the state as a surefire win when President Joe Biden — who had not led in a single Nevada poll this year — was still in the race. Since replacing Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris has generally polled evenly with Trump in Nevada.

But Trump’s campaign infrastructure still lags behind Harris’ campaign, which inherited all of the Biden campaign’s ground game when he dropped out. 

In conjunction with the Nevada Democratic Party, the Harris campaign is operating 14 offices across the state and has more than 100 full-time employees, a campaign official said. From Aug. 17-25, the campaign held 377 events, and volunteers knocked on nearly 19,000 doors, the official said.  The Trump campaign, meanwhile, has about 24 full-time staffers in Nevada, a spokesperson said.

The five Trump campaign offices are in central Las Vegas, Spring Valley, Henderson, Centennial Hills and Reno, with the Henderson office opening most recently on July 1. A campaign spokesperson said these locations operate as hubs for supporters to stay informed on how to participate in Trump Force 47. There are 16 events scheduled within the next week, including a Lake Mead boat parade. Still, the campaign has two fewer field offices in Nevada than it did in 2020, when Trump lost to Biden by about 34,000 votes, and the Republican National Committee’s once-touted minority outreach centers were not reopened after the 2022 midterms.

But at an event in Las Vegas on Friday, Trump appeared unconcerned about the state of the race, again referring to false claims that the only way Democrats could win the election is by cheating.

“I don’t know how we can lose it,” he said. “We win this state, we win the whole thing.”

Election optimism

Optimism was prevalent among attendees of Trump’s Friday event.

The Nevada Independent interviewed eight attendees at the Il Toro E La Capra restaurant, many of whom expressed confidence about Trump’s chances and deep skepticism about recent polling trends showing Harris making up ground.

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Justin Franks, a 52-year-old who works in construction, dismissed any notion that Harris had momentum coming out of the Democratic National Convention last week, adding that he thinks any poll showing otherwise is biased.

“The state of the race is Trump is leading by a mile,” Franks said. “When you look at all of the sentiment in the country, everybody wants Trump, anybody with half a brain wants Trump.”

Nancy Hamilton, a 55-year-old real estate photographer, was also skeptical about polls showing Harris’ recent spike in popularity.

“I don't know how much we believe the media,” Hamilton said. “She wasn't too popular. She needs to go.”

Editor’s Note: This story appears in Indy Elections, The Nevada Independent’s newsletter dedicated to comprehensive coverage of the 2024 election. Sign up for the newsletter here.