detroit<u+2014>a trio of states that had all but dropped off the election battleground map has suddenly been put back into play, with republican donald trump trying to make inroads on democratic turf. michigan, wisconsin and new mexico have been reliably blue in recent presidential elections, and polls have shown democrat hillary clinton consistently leading in the three states. but with the race tightening during the final days of the campaign, mr. trump is hoping to notch a surprise victory and widen his path to 270 electoral votes. polling experts and strategists in the three states say moving even one of them into the republican column remains a long shot at best. but mr. trump and his running mate, mike pence, have been campaigning in all three during the final run-up to election day, hoping to win over blocs of white, working-class voters. meantime, the clinton campaign is working to solidify its support, making new ad buys in michigan and new mexico and scheduling a<u+00a0>friday<u+00a0>campaign stop in detroit. detroit needs to <u+201c>rise up<u+201d> on election day, mrs. clinton said before urging an enthusiastic crowd to go to the polls tuesday. <u+201c>there<u+2019>s something special about this place,<u+201d> she said. trump spokesman jason miller said the democratic nominee<u+2019>s renewed focus on these areas is evidence that the clinton campaign is concerned. clinton aides, though, have said recent spending on tv ads is evidence of a cash influx and not a shift in strategy. <u+201c>the trump campaign claims their path to the white house is through states like these but we<u+2019>re going to make sure those doors remain shut,<u+201d> said jesse ferguson, mrs. clinton<u+2019>s deputy national press secretary. among these unlikely battleground states, michigan presents mr. trump with perhaps his best chance to score an upset win. the real clear politics average of polls in the state shows mrs. clinton with about a 6-percentage-point lead, but the large number of white voters without college degrees could make michigan relatively fertile ground for the republican nominee. ronna romney mcdaniel, chairwoman of the michigan republican party, said mr. trump is attracting reagan democrats and other voters who infrequently<u+00a0>support republicans by focusing on issues that resonate in this state: trade, jobs and the affordable care act. she views mrs. clinton<u+2019>s<u+00a0>friday<u+00a0>stop in michigan as a sign of democratic distress. <u+201c>clearly, the clinton campaign is worried,<u+201d> ms. romney mcdaniel said. <u+201c>they did not expect to be spending time in this state at this point in the campaign.<u+201d> matt grossmann, director of the institute for public policy and social research at michigan state university, said mr. trump<u+2019>s multiple visits to the state could provide a boost in support, but<u+00a0>the republican nominee still needs just about everything to fall his way on election day to be competitive there. mr. trump must compel an increase in turnout among lower educated white voters and consolidate support among republican elites, he said, while hoping that african-americans and young voters turn out in lower numbers. <u+201c>i am still very skeptical,<u+201d> mr. grossmann said about mr. trump<u+2019>s prospects in michigan. neighboring wisconsin offers mr. trump another large bloc of white, working-class voters, and the gop nominee expressed confidence that he could claim the state<u+2019>s 10 electoral votes during a recent campaign stop in eau claire. <u+201c>we are going to win the great state of wisconsin, and we are going to win back the white house,<u+201d> mr. trump told supporters there. but he has ground to make up here as well. the latest marquette university law school poll shows mrs. clinton with a 6-percentage-point lead, topping mr. trump 46% to 40% among likely voters in the state. brian fraley, a wisconsin communications consultant and a former gop strategist, said mr. trump could benefit from the state<u+2019>s strong republican party infrastructure and demographics that could be a good match for his populist pitch. but mr. trump is struggling to gain traction in the must-win suburbs of milwaukee, mr. fraley said, and <u+201c>has done himself no favors<u+201d> by attacking house speaker paul ryan, a popular native son of the state, and wisconsin gov. scott walker during the gop primaries. mr. trump has <u+201c>a narrow path to 270,<u+201d> said mr. fraley, who doesn<u+2019>t support the republican nominee. <u+201c>the fact that he and his surrogates are spending time in the state this late shows you how narrow his path is.<u+201d> while mrs. clinton hasn<u+2019>t spent time in wisconsin during the stretch run of the campaign, she dispatched two of her top surrogates<u+2014>running mate tim kaine and daughter chelsea clinton<u+2014>to the state this week. new mexico is arguably the most unlikely of mr. trump<u+2019>s blue-state targets. but it is also a bit of a wild card. with former new mexico gov. gary johnson also on the ballot as the libertarian presidential nominee, democratic-leaning new mexico looks a little less predictable this year, though it is still a steep challenge for mr. trump. the state was a true tossup in 2000 and 2004, which it was decided by less than 1 percentage point. but president barack obama twice won new mexico by comfortable margins. with a population that is 48% hispanic, new mexico has the largest hispanic statewide population share of any state, according to the pew research center. mr. trump, who has made building a border wall a centerpiece of his campaign, has struggled to gain broad support among hispanics. still, brian sanderoff, president of research and polling inc. in albuquerque, said some u.s.-born hispanics in the state are open to mr. trump<u+2019>s tough stance on immigration. mr. trump and mr. pence have both made stops in new mexico, seeking to capitalize on local press coverage in a state with only one large media market. mr. sanderoff said the presidential race is tightening in other battleground states, and he expects new mexico to follow suit, but it is still a long shot for the gop ticket. <u+201c>the difference is we<u+2019>re starting out bluer than they are,<u+201d> mr. sanderoff said of other swing states that have seen the race tighten. <u+201c>new mexico would be no exception, but the question is: how much did it narrow?<u+201d> write to colleen mccain nelson at colleen.nelson@wsj.com
trump targets final push in three states where clinton<u+2019>s poll lead is narrowing - wsj
colleen mccain nelson