GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — With just five days to go ballots begin to be counted, it's now reportedly the plan of former President Donald Trump to return to West Michigan in his final rally ahead of Election Day.
According to ABC News, sources have told the network Trump is scheduled to hold his final campaign rally in Grand Rapids one day before Election Day.
A Trump campaign spokesperson has also since confirmed directly to 13 ON YOUR SIDE Trump's last rally is set to be held there.
With ancestral Republican roots, recent Democratic trends and a population of hundreds of thousands, Kent County, Michigan State University Professor Matt Grossmann said, is a prime campaign battleground.
"To try to win back some of the voters that Donald Trump has lost, but traditionally vote Republican, and to try to gain some of the new conservative-leaning voters - it makes sense to make one last appearance," said Grossmann, who directs the university's Institute for Public Policy and Social Research.
It's an area that could be booming with activity well after election day, depending on the outcome.
Some fear a similar situation to 2020 when Republican-leaning Election Day totals were largely reported first, and the later reporting of Democratic-leaning absentee numbers slowly phased out what had seemed to be an edge for Trump.
Referred to as a 'red mirage' by many, it's a concept one local clerk explained at a town hall weeks ago on election security.
"It's interesting to call [mail-in ballots] the 'great deceiver' because ultimately we had what this weird- and it was referred to I think even in the media as this 'red mirage' and 'blue wave,' right?" Ottawa County Clerk Justin Roebuck said at an elections Q&A session in mid-October, as he answered a member of the public's question that had labeled the ballots in such a fashion.
"So, this idea that we had- the first set of results that reported in are almost always precinct results because the workflow in that process is quicker," he continued. "And when you're in a voting precinct, voters casting their ballot, there's not as much steps as an absentee ballot."
But this year could be different.
With clerks in Michigan now being allowed to pre-process absentee ballots, and as hundreds of thousands have already cast their ballots in person as part of Michigan's first mandatory statewide early voting period, results could be reported more quickly and with a balance between the various methods voters have used.
With many having already cast their vote, it could lessen the impact of a late-season rally.
But, Grossman says, with this close of an election, any shift could make all the difference.
"It's late, but people are still making their decisions," Grossmann said. "I mean, the early voters are generally people who are clear about their decision."
"There's still people both making the 'whether to vote' decision and the 'who to vote for' decision."
When asked for comment, a Harris campaign spokesperson provided the following statement, attributed to Harris for President Michigan Communications Director Alyssa Bradley:
“For Michigan workers, Trump’s legacy is closed factories, jobs shipped overseas, and giving China a headstart in the EV race. Now, Trump's extreme Project 2025 plan would give tax breaks to big corporations and billionaires while raising costs by $4,000 per year for hardworking Michiganders – a stark contrast with Vice President Harris’ vision for a new way forward that lowers costs and gives middle-class families an opportunity to get ahead. On Monday, Trump will remind voters why they rejected him last time and why we need to come together to protect our jobs and our families by voting for Vice President Harris and Governor Walz.”