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Trump Microtargeting & Kamala Mysteries

During 72 hours in North Carolina, I became the target demo for a Republican ad blitz painting Kamala’s America as a dystopian, crime-ridden hellhole. Meanwhile, the latest Puck-Echelon poll shows Harris leading 49-44, even though voters still don’t know what she’s for. Does it matter?

donald trump
What struck me about the campaign ads wasn’t the tone: It was the volume—and the precision of the targeting. Photo: Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images
Peter Hamby
October 1, 2024

I’m in North Carolina for a few days, enjoying the front end of a series of swing state reporting trips I’ll be making in the coming weeks. Which means that, while I gorged myself on football over the weekend, I had the misfortune of experiencing what life is like for a battleground state television viewer in an election year. And more specifically, what life is like for a very specific political target in these final five weeks of the campaign: a man in a swing state between the ages of 18 and 44 who watches a lot of live sports on YouTube TV. That would be me.