In some swing states, the political action committee that billionaire Elon Musk funded to help re-elect former US President Donald Trump is having trouble meeting its door-knocking targets and is looking into allegations that some canvassers misrepresented the number of voters they had reached, according to those involved in the group’s work.
In the final two weeks before the election on November 5, America PAC is trying to rally voters behind the Republican candidate, and the challenges are occurring in crucial battleground states like Wisconsin and Nevada. “Managers warned canvassers they are missing targets and needed to increase the number of would-be voters they contact,” four people involved in the group’s outreach told Reuters.
According to Alysia McMillan, who canvassed for the PAC in Wisconsin, field organizers recently informed campaigners that they were falling short of their daily targets and would likely miss the ultimate goal of reaching 450,000 voters by Election Day. One manager warned of the shortfall in a meeting with canvassers that McMillan recorded and Reuters examined.
The manager stated during the meeting on October 8 that “with what we’ve got now, we’re not going to hit 450,000.” How many knocks the Wisconsin teams have already received is unknown.
Working for two local contractors that America PAC hired to knock on voter doors, McMillan said she is speaking out because she fears a lack of funding could cost the former president a victory. She told Reuters that delaying the investigation could lead to a waste of time and money, potentially jeopardizing President Trump’s election victory.
After a pay dispute with one contractor, McMillan claimed she was fired, but she was soon hired by another.
One canvassing manager reported that leaders in Arizona had issued similar warnings. According to three other people familiar with the outreach who spoke to Reuters, Chris Young, a veteran Republican operative and Musk aide, recently visited Nevada to investigate whether some of the contractors’ employees had inflated door-knocking tallies there. America PAC was having trouble finding enough people to perform audits in other states, according to another person briefed on the subject.
According to a source familiar with America PAC’s operations, McMillan’s claim of a Wisconsin deficit is untrue, and the organization will succeed. The individual also mentioned that senior operators frequently stop by field offices to assess performance.
Young did not respond to a request for comment.
Door-to-door efforts are the foundation of America PAC’s continuous outreach, which aims to persuade “low propensity voters”—those who might support Trump but might choose to abstain from voting—to cast their ballots. The study has focused on battleground states, where a slight variation in voter turnout could significantly impact Trump’s victory over the Democratic candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, in an election that polls still deem too close to predict.
According to Forbes, as the richest person in the world, Musk has contributed at least $75 million to America PAC thus far, according to federal disclosures, making the organization a key component of Trump’s campaign to retake the White House. Support for Republican causes has grown for the entrepreneur behind SpaceX, a rocket and satellite company, and Tesla, a carmaker. The tycoon began openly endorsing Trump this year, who has stated that Musk would lead a government efficiency commission if elected.
Musk did not respond to a request for comment.
A spokesman for the Trump campaign remained silent.
People familiar with America PAC’s efforts told Reuters that, despite the infusion of funds, chaos has plagued some of its outreach efforts. Like with many campaign activities, the group has enlisted contractors to conduct grassroots activities, depending on hourly workers to knock on doors and interact with prospective voters in person.
It has been challenging to keep some of those employees on board. According to three canvassers who wished to remain anonymous, the work isn’t worth the pay, which some contractors offer as low as $20 per hour. In certain instances, they continued: canvassers travel great distances in isolated locations without receiving payment for their gasoline expenses.
Whether Young’s audit has ended, produced any conclusions, or led to any modifications in America PAC’s outreach in Nevada is unclear. According to text messages obtained by Reuters, managers at Lone Mountain Strategies, a contractor in Nevada, were upset about having to fire canvassers who lied about their door-knocking numbers and concealed their locations using smartphone apps.
“Our auditors keep catching people cheating,” one of the comments said. “We’ve fired two people today, and our auditors are checking doors for flyers.”
Lone Mountain Strategies did not respond to requests for comment by phone or email.
In a recent website update, America PAC prominently featured ads looking for canvassers. “Pay starts at $30 per hour, with bonuses for performance,” goes the website.
