Could This Be the Trump Campaign’s Biggest Mistake?
In the heat of an intense campaign, even for surrogates, it’s easy to lose track of time and place.
And for the Donald Trump presidential campaign, two of the most prolific surrogates have been the Republican front-runner’s son Eric and daughter Ivanka. Unfortunately, neither of them will be voting for him next Tuesday in the New York Primary.
They forgot to register to vote as Republicans.
The New York Primary is a closed party primary, meaning only registered Republicans may vote in the Republican presidential primary. Eric and Ivanka Trump are both registered to vote, but without party affiliation, and they missed the deadline to change their affiliations to the GOP.
The Trump campaign—facing another self-inflicted embarrassment—admitted the mistake Monday. Donald Trump responded to the matter during an interview on FOX News:
“They had a longtime register and they were, you know, unaware of the rules, and they didn’t register in time. So they feel very, very guilty. They feel very guilty. But it’s fine. I understand that. I think they have to register a year in advance and they didn’t. So Eric and Ivanka, I guess, won’t be voting.”
The deadline to change party affiliation was Oct. 9, 2015. The loss of two votes probably won’t hurt Donald Trump’s chances of winning all 95 delegates in his home state; he is currently polling at 53.6 percent, according to Real Clear Politics, nearly 33 points ahead of Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who is polling in second place.
