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Nov 05, 2024

By Lauren Egan, Eli Stokols and Ben Johansen

Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration and Harris campaign.

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Programming note: West Wing Playbook will begin covering the transition of power on Wednesday. We’ll deliver daily updates and analysis on the preparations, personnel decisions and policy deliberations that follow the 2024 elections. Have colleagues who will want to get inside the transition? Forward and ask them to subscribe.

Election Day can be stressful.

Campaign staffers are jittery about election results, replaying the last few weeks over and over in their heads, wondering if maybe they could have just knocked on a few more doors in Michigan or squeezed in one more campaign visit to Wisconsin.

Reporters, already an anxious bunch, are haunted by nightmares of being the person who accidentally publishes the wrong election call pre-write.

In order to cope, many of us have developed Election Day rituals. BARACK OBAMA famously played basketball with friends and aides as the country went to the polls in 2008 and 2012. Perhaps you’re like our editor, Steve, who finds his zen each election morning by getting a haircut. Lauren, on the other hand, takes a more balanced approach by starting her day screaming into a pillow. Eli does what he does most days and has a sandwich and takes a walk. This is Ben’s first Election Day as a journalist, but he’s resolved to start a tradition of ~~doom scrolling on Twitter~~ waking up at 4:30 a.m. to go on a 15-mile run.

We’re pretty confident that Vice President KAMALA HARRIS, who has described herself as “a little superstitious,” has a good luck routine. Unfortunately, her campaign did not share the details with us. So instead, West Wing Playbook reached out to Democratic officials and people close to the Harris operation to hear how they combat the Election Day scaries.

CEDRIC RICHMOND: Play golf in the morning.

STEPHANIE SCHRIOCK: I have to wear my cowboy boots. I’ve done it since 2004. The only time I didn’t wear them was in 2016.

MINYON MOORE: Always have to start with my daily inspirations that [are] sent to me by friends. It’s a ritual. I get grounded and anchored. Then I think about one or two people who have given me some complete and unexpected inspiration so throughout the day I can keep a level head knowing each election is about those people.

DONNA BRAZILE: First thing is a cup of coffee. Followed by checking in with key folks on the ground: What are you hearing, where’s the action this morning? Lastly, I start to call into drive time radio. Remind folks until the polls close to stay in line and make sure to bring a photo ID and a few utility bills. Florida changed everything for me. I simply work until the last vote is cast or when the networks start to project (I’m on ABC News). Can’t help but [be] myself — an old grassroots organizer.

RON KLAIN: I’m always someplace different on Election Day — so no real traditions.

ERIC SCHULTZ: I have no ritual! Though the Obama team famously always ordered chicken tenders and fries from the mess on big nights — election nights, SOTU, etc.

KAREN FINNEY: Just before the polls close and the madness of the evening accelerates I make a point to step away for a few minutes to take a walk and just be in the moment.

DAVID AXELROD: The routine is drinking a lot of caffeine and calling a bunch of folks and asking, “What do YOU know?” Though it’s absurd because no one really knows and in a matter of hours, we ALL will!

NEERA TANDEN: I have seriously done get out the vote every presidential election since 1992 and doing it again today in York, Pennsylvania.

JAIME HARRISON: Wake up and say a prayer for our candidates and our volunteers. Traditionally, I go and buy dozens of donuts and deliver them to the volunteers and poll workers in my county precincts, but this year I am in D.C. on Election Day and am bummed that I couldn’t do it!

JAMES CARVILLE: Text and call people who do important work and try to extract useless information from them.

DOUG JONES: For me, good luck charms and superstitions usually fall by the wayside each election [in] Alabama. I do keep a bottle of good bourbon handy — for good times or bad, it always helps ��

MESSAGE US — Are you KAMALA HARRIS? We want to hear from you. And we’ll keep you anonymous! Email us at westwingtips@politico.com.

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POTUS PUZZLER

Why are elections held on a Tuesday?

(Answer at bottom.)

CAMPAIGN HQ

FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS, FOLKS: As news outlets begin releasing their exit polls (don’t read too deep into them), our election guru STEVE SHEPARD has a breakdown of what time states will wrap up voting and when you can expect results from the critical battlegrounds.

At 7 p.m. ET, the first big swing state, Georgia, will close its polls. And most of the vote should be counted quickly. When the in-person, early-voting period ended last week, more than 55 percent of registered voters had already submitted their ballots.

Thirty minutes later, North Carolina will wrap things up and — similar to Georgia — you should expect most of the results to come in by the end of Tuesday. Pennsylvania’s and most of Michigan’s polls close at 8 p.m. And unlike Georgia and North Carolina, they won’t report very quickly. But it will likely be faster than it was in 2020.

Arizona, Wisconsin and the rest of Michigan will close at 9 p.m., while Nevada closes an hour later.

STRONG CLOSE (DONALD’S VERSION): Former President DONALD TRUMP cast his ballot in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday morning, donning his red MAGA hat alongside MELANIA TRUMP. During a gaggle with reporters, Trump was asked whether he would tell his supporters that there should be no violence if Harris wins. “My supporters are not violent people,” he said. “I don’t have to tell them that … These are people that believe in no violence, unlike your question. You believe in violence.”

Reminder: During the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, approximately 140 police officers were assaulted by pro-Trump rioters.

Trump was also asked about his vote on the Florida ballot amendment which would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution and eliminate the state’s six-week abortion ban. “Just stop talking about that,” he responded.

STRONG CLOSE (KAMALA’S VERSION): Harris, who voted by mail over the weekend, spent much of her day calling into radio shows urging people to vote. This morning, she spoke with drive-time hosts in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and Raleigh, her campaign said. During the lunch hour, she hit stations in Milwaukee and Las Vegas as well as a Phoenix-based Spanish language radio network that also reaches Nevada and other states. And she plans to speak to SiriusXM’s ZERLINA MAXWELL this evening before polls close.

In between calls, she also made a stop at DNC headquarters, walking in with a box of Doritos and briefly taking part in a phone bank and thanking volunteers.

SO IT BEGINS: U.S. Capitol Police on Tuesday afternoon arrested a man trying to enter the U.S. Capitol. The man smelled like fuel, the police noted, and was carrying a torch and flare gun, our KATHERINE TULLY-McMANUS reports. The man was stopped just after 1:30 p.m. at the screening checkpoint for entering the Capitol Visitor Center.

Public tours were closed for the day as the department investigates the incident.

WHAT WILMINGTON WANTS YOU TO READ: Read? They don’t want you to read anything. Just vote!

WHAT WILMINGTON DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: MOO DENG’s presidential pick yesterday. She went with Trump. It’s Moo-ver (hahahah, get it).

The Oval

AND NOWWW, THE END IS NEAR: It’s fair to say this is not the Election Night JOE BIDEN had long envisioned. But roughly four months after a disastrous debate night in June crushed his campaign, he’ll watch tonight from the White House as votes trickle in for his vice president. He’ll be surrounded by first lady JILL BIDEN, longtime aides and senior staff, Bloomberg’s AKAYLA GARDNER reports.

CANVASSING … OR COCKTAILS? A number of administration staffers have spent their PTO and used weekends to volunteer for Harris’ campaign in the final days and weeks. But several of those who showed up to a very quiet White House on Tuesday — a 4 p.m. lid, the president not seen in public — planned to check out early for team drinks (although a number, we’re told, are staying at their desks and planning to work late).

An email that pinged around the building — and found its way to us at West Wing Playbook — was formatted to look like Biden’s daily schedule, stating: “On Tuesday, November 5th at 2024 at 5pm, the Communications, Press and Digital teams will travel to [REDACTED] for official drinks. This event will be closed press.”

Enjoy yourselves, guys!

THE BUREAUCRATS

PERSONNEL MOVES: REBECCA WISTREICH, a presidential management fellow, has been promoted to be a senior policy adviser at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

— RICARDO BRANDON RIOS is now counsel to the VP. He most recently was a special assistant to the president and senior associate counsel.

Agenda Setting

THAT’S IT … YOU’RE OUTTA HERE: Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU on Tuesday fired Defense Minister YOAV GALLANT after disagreements over Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza, NYT’s ADAM RASGON reports . Gallant was the main proponent of a cease-fire deal in Gaza that would secure the release of hostages.

In a recorded statement Tuesday evening, the Israeli leader said “significant gaps on handling the battle” emerged between him and Gallant. He named ISRAEL KATZ, the foreign minister, as the new defense minister and said GIDEON SA'AR would replace Katz as foreign minister.

AT THE ELECTION BUZZER: Boeing factory workers late Monday ended their two-month strike, voting to accept a four-year contract that secures historic gains in wages and benefits substantially higher than the company offered prior to the walkout, AP’s DAVID KOENIG, LINDSEY WASSON and HANNAH SCHOENBAUM report . Leaders of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers district in Seattle said 59 percent of members who cast ballots agreed to approve the company’s fourth formal offer.

The deal includes a 38 percent wage increase over four years and $12,000 bonuses for approving the contract. However, Boeing refused to meet strikers’ demands on restoring a company pension plan that was frozen for nearly a decade.

In a statement , President Biden said the contract “improves workers’ ability to retire with dignity, and supports fairness at the workplace,” adding that it’s “important for Boeing’s future as a critical part of America’s aerospace sector."

What We're Reading

How Trump Accidentally Let His Biggest Advantage Over Harris Slip Away (The New Republic’s Greg Sargent)

This Is a Test (The Atlantic’s David A. Graham)

How Lina Khan Became an Election Hot Topic (NYT’s David McCabe and Cecilia Kang)

Legos, Cocoa and Coloring Books for Georgetown Students (The Free Press’ Frannie Block)

POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER

MEA CULPA: In yesterday’s Potus Puzzler Answer, we wrote that LYNDON B. JOHNSON’s 1964 victory over BARRY GOLDWATER was the largest electoral win in presidential history. We had multiple readers write in to correct us that there were several other candidates who won by wider margins, including RONALD REAGAN’s 1984 win over WALTER MONDALE and RICHARD NIXON’s 1972 win over GEORGE McGOVERN. We apologize for the error.

Now, back to today’s trivia.

This answer dates back to the 19th century, when most citizens lived far from a voting location. Since it often took people at least a day to travel to vote, lawmakers had to allow a two-day window. Weekends were out of the question, as Sundays were for church. And in a society largely built on farmers, Wednesdays were also out, due to it often being market day.

So, Tuesday it was (with Monday being dedicated as a travel day).

A CALL OUT! Do you think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best one about the presidents, with a citation or sourcing, and we may feature it!

Edited by Steve Shepard and Rishika Dugyala

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