November 18, 2019

NBC News and Meet the Press Launch Year-Long “County to County” Project, Focusing on 2020 Voters in Five Key Counties in Swing States

Below background information on a just-announced year-long project from NBC News and Meet the Press.
WHAT: A unique, in-depth look at the 2020 election. For the next year, NBC News reporters will regularly report from key counties in five swing states. These counties reflect the demographic and cultural challenges facing both political parties, and will be critical in determining who will win those swing states and, ultimately, the election
WHY: To offer greater insight into where the 2020 election is heading and why
 
WHO: NBC News political director and Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd, and NBC News Political Reporters Vaughn Hillyard and Dasha Burns
WHEN: From now until Election Day 2020
WHERE: Milwaukee County, Wisconsin; Kent County, Michigan (includes Grand Rapids); Beaver County, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh); Miami-Dade County, Florida; and Maricopa County, Arizona (includes Phoenix)
 
HOW: Our reporters will interview and remain in touch with residents in these five demographically significant counties, tracking the local economy, media and evolving opinion as the presidential race unfolds. Stories will appear on NBC News, MSNBC and NBC News NOW. In addition, NBCNews.com/counties will have stories, segments and interactive maps, allowing users to click on each of the counties to learn more about why they were selected for the project
 
LINK TO VIDEO OF ANNOUNCEMENT: https://nbcnews.to/2XoYTxb
 
QUOTES FROM CHUCK TODD:
 
“We’re trying to pick counties that are emblematic of the larger story.”
 
“You’ll see a lot of us ... We want to be able to have folks see the presidential race from the ground up.”
 
“We wanted to pick interesting counties that have a unique storyline.”
 
"I want to throughout the next year to be able to understand those dynamics as well as we can on the ground … We’re going to essentially embed ourselves in these counties.”
 
"I'm hoping to find some of these citizen observers who will help us have a better conversation … That’s what happened in 2016. ... The Trump campaign had a different conversation with voters than many of us realized.”
 
“I think we really are going to have to do old-fashioned shoe-leather reporting to see how are campaigns talking to voters where we don’t see it… I think that’s one of the things that we missed the most in 2016. We didn’t see the conversation Trump was having with voters on social, particularly when it was on Facebook.”
 
LINK TO LANDING PAGE: NBCNews.com/counties
 
LINK TO IMAGE: https://bit.ly/35bvXLH