With Halloween in mind, it makes perfectly good sense to talk about a “shadow war” and “ghost voters,” each consequential to the presidential race. As the contest nears the finish line, Vice President Kamala Harris is counting on young women — the so-called ghost voters — to turn out in considerable numbers. The Harris team is targeting young women between the ages of 18 and 35 as she continues to push women’s reproductive rights and abortion to counter Trump’s strategy to make the economy and immigration vital issues.
Ghost voters are those women who have not voted or have only occasionally expressed support for Harris. They are virtually invisible in the various polls, and Harris is doing all she can to make them more visible and supportive when they enter the voting booth.
This is not to say that Trump is without his share of ghost voters — non-college educated voters turned out in massive numbers for him in 2016 and 2020, making a mockery of the polls.
This domestic issue is balanced by a global one in the Middle East, and Trump has placed his cards on conflict that will upend Harris and the Biden administration’s support of Israel, particularly in the battleground state of Michigan.
The current conflict underway in the Middle East, with the presence of proxies of Iran (the Houthis and Hezbollah), are examples of participants in a shadow war, acting on behalf of major countries. But as the war spreads, so does the shadow and Harris, with her position still closely associated with the U.S. support of Israel, stands to suffer if the Arab population either sits out the race or votes for Trump.
To a great degree, the ongoing war in Ukraine and the invasion by Russia have elements of a shadow war, since the U.S. is involved in the supply of armaments to Ukraine. This puts them in opposition to Trump and his favoring Putin’s outlook, whether in war or politics.
In effect, the arrival of ghost voters and the outcome of a shadow war will have a decisive impact on the election, domestically and globally.