Trump allies issue warning that he could lose critical battleground state

Several allies of Donald Trump are warning that the former president could lose the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania, citing early voting numbers showing high turnout among women.

As of Thursday evening, nearly 62 million early votes have been cast, with majority cast by women, 54 percent to 44 percent, according to NBC News’ tracker, a trend that translates to Pennsylvania too.

Pennsylvania is a key battleground state in this year’s election, with Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris vying for its crucial Electoral College votes. The Keystone State’s 19 electoral votes—more than any other swing state—could determine the outcome of the election.

Trump narrowly won Pennsylvania in 2016 against Hillary Clinton, while President Joe Biden flipped it in 2020. The race in the state is expected to be decided by a few thousand votes, and both major party candidates have been repeatedly campaigning there.

Most Pennsylvania polls show a narrow margin between the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees, with leads fluctuating within the margin of error, making the state a toss-up.

Trump allies like conservative political activist Charlie Kirk of Turning Point Action, posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday that so far early voting in Pennsylvania are “disproportionately female,” adding that “if men stay at home, Kamala is president.” He encouraged, “Men need to GO VOTE NOW.”

Newsweek has reached out to Harris and Trump’s campaign for comment via email on Thursday evening.

Women are outpacing men in casting ballots in Pennsylvania, with the NBC News’ early voter tracker showing women accounted for about 56 percent of the early vote, while men made up about 43 percent, as of Thursday. The tracker shows 1,625,706 mail-in and early in-person votes cast in the state already, with 58 percent cast by registered Democrats and 32 percent by Republicans. Voters registered by party do not necessarily vote along party lines.

Among new voters in the state, Democratic women are the biggest group, with over 33,800 early ballots already cast.

Social media personality and political commentator Mike Cernovich reiterated Kirk’s message, writing in a post yesterday, “Male turnout in Pennsylvania for Trump has been a disaster. Unless this changes, Kamala Harris takes PA and it’s over.”

Whichever candidate wins Pennsylvania is likely to secure the presidency, with Harris’ clearest path to victory winning the three “Blue Wall” battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, barring any shock results elsewhere, and Trump securing Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia.

In a second post on Thursday, he wrote, “The current MAGA cope is, ‘Men vote on election days.’ Not in 2022, they didn’t. Especially not YOUNG MEN who listen to podcasts like Joe Rogan. They don’t vote. GET THEM TO THIS TIME.”

Both Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, have separately appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience, the popular podcast hosted by Joe Rogan.

So far, Rogan, a podcast host, stand-up comedian and Ultimate Fighting Championship commentator, has not endorsed a presidential candidate.

His show leans more to the right and attracts a young, male audience. He often shares views with Trump, such as skepticism over COVID-19 measures, which prompted calls during the pandemic for Spotify to cut ties with the podcaster.

However, Rogan has generally avoided showing support for either Democrats or Republicans, and his comments have been more about expressing frustration at the political establishment.