Battleground states that handed Donald Trump the presidency four years ago are seeing higher-than-average layoffs amid an economic downturn wreaking havoc across the country — a dynamic that could hold major implications for November’s election
“It’s the most consistently negative aspect of this whole situation in Florida, the unemployment benefits system not working,” said Susan MacManus, a political analyst in the state and former chair of the Florida Elections Commission. “If you’re a single parent, if you’re a head of a household, you’re not going to forget this.”
Even states where unemployment claims rates are at or below the national average are still seeing a dramatic uptick in layoffs and furloughs. The major question at this point is whether economic issues and uncertainty persist or worsen by November, or whether they begin to rebound. A turnaround starting by late summer would be the “best-case scenario” for Trump, said Charles Franklin, a pollster and professor at Marquette Law School in Milwaukee.
Barnes, of the Michigan Democrats, has embraced that approach. “Some of this could have been mitigated with a quicker and better response from the federal government,” she said. She added that now that layoffs have taken place, the Trump administration could still be doing more to help unemployed workers, including by helping them regain access to healthcare.
Whitmer took “draconian measures” by enacting a sweeping shutdown, said Tony Zammit, communications director for the Michigan Republican Party.
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