Whether it’s a grinning Joe Biden as “Dark Brandon” or Donald Trump’s face superimposed onto a scene from HBO’s Game of Thrones, both presidential campaigns this year have embraced digital memes, the lingua franca of social media.

The campaigns of the Democratic president and Republican former president enthusiastically create and share content trying to shape the narratives around both men. Mr. Biden’s campaign even recently posted a job seeking a manager of meme pages.

Also Read | Trump campaign considering Nikki Haley as running mate: report

With tens of millions of people using social media as a primary information source, the battle of memes could affect who wins in November. Many Americans say they’re not excited about a Biden-Trump rematch and growing digital habits make it harder to reach people through traditional spaces for political advertising like print publications or television.

The history of memes

Memes can be an edgier, faster way to get a political point across than a block of text or a lengthy video. But online misfires have hurt candidates and created major controversies.

Here’s a look at how memes are shaping presidential politics.

First: What is a meme? Memes have been around longer than you think.

The term “meme” was coined in 1976 by British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, who used it to refer to a piece of information that is imitated and shared, be it a slogan, a behaviour, an idea.

With the rise of internet culture, digital memes have skyrocketed in popularity. They often take the form of visual content like an image or a video with some kind of message that speaks to people who get it because of some knowledge they have or membership in a particular group. Memes don’t have to be funny or satirical, but that makes them more likely to be shared widely. And while politicians these days work to deliberately create and share memes, some of the most well-known ones were unintentionally sparked.

One of the earliest memes of the modern era was former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean’s enthusiastic scream the night of the Iowa caucuses, with videos and images of the Democrat’s guttural shriek being widely shared, drawing ridicule and damaging his already struggling presidential bid.

When President Barack Obama was moving into the White House in 2009, the photos of outgoing President George W. Bush with the text, “Miss me yet?” were broadly shared by Bush’s supporters.

A 2011 photo of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wearing sunglasses and staring at her phone became a popular meme the following year, “Texts from Hillary”, purporting to show her sending snarky texts to politicians and celebrities.

“If you do it well, you tap into something that the group agrees upon or is feeling suspicious about; you tap into something that connects with the audience,” said Rebecca Ortiz, an associate professor of advertising at Syracuse University who has researched the influence of memes around political identity.

Memes shaping U.S. presidential politics

How do the two candidates approach memes? Mr. Biden’s campaign has created its own stockpile of photos and videos for distribution on official Biden-related accounts. According to a Biden campaign official, advisers are also looking to partner with third-party creators in the coming months, with the hopes of reaching the followings of users who already seem aligned with a pro-Biden message.

By developing relationships with outside creators, campaign officials hope that some undecided or as-yet unpersuaded voters will glom onto Mr. Biden’s message if they receive it from another account they’re already following.

“We’re trying really hard to run a digital programme that is authentic to our candidate, who is probably not spending all his time on Twitter — actually, he definitely is not,” said Clarke Humphrey, senior adviser for digital persuasion for the Biden campaign. “So I think we just have been really creative about how to leverage all the corners of the internet so that he can be where he needs to be without him actually having to go to those places necessarily.”

Mr. Trump, a prolific user of social media even before he ran for president, has long embraced memes and shared them, as have his very-online political aides and some of his adult children. His oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., shares them frequently and refers to himself on Instagram as a “Meme Wars General”.

The campaign did not offer any details about its digital team or its use of memes. Spokesperson Steven Cheung issued a statement calling out Mr. Biden’s videotaped flubs of speeches and moments of apparent confusion.

“Joe Biden is a walking, talking meme every time he shuffles into public view,” Mr. Cheung said.

What are some examples of their content? Mr. Biden’s team has embraced “Dark Brandon”, reappropriating a right-wing conspiracy meme that depicted the president as a menacing force and used a nickname, “Brandon”, that become an in-joke among conservatives for insulting him.

While “Dark Brandon” originally depicted Mr. Biden as a shadowy threat, Democrats adopted it, using the image as a meme to mock conspiracy theories about Mr. Biden’s purported influence on events like the Super Bowl and portraying him as a powerful force to tout his accomplishments.

Now, the campaign sells signs, mugs, baby onesies and even coffee bags portraying Mr. Biden as “Dark Brandon” with red laser eyes.

Mr. Trump and his staff regularly share memes that glorify him in over-the-top ways, such as depicting him to be leading a band of dancing Bollywood soldiers.

Also Read | Biden, Trump issue dire warnings for the U.S. if other wins another term

In April, right before the total solar eclipse swept across North America, Mr. Trump shared a meme video on his Truth Social media account that featured clips of people staring up at the sky wearing eclipse glasses and cheering as the sky darkened, before cutting to an image of the sun with a large silhouette of Mr. Trump’s head blocking it out as people cheer.

And both the Biden and Trump campaigns quickly clip potentially embarrassing videos of their opponent and post them online within minutes, injecting those moments into the social media bloodstream and often driving traditional news coverage.

When have the memes gone wrong?

Mr. Trump and his campaign often share content created by outside meme-makers — often geared to his base supporters — and sometimes disavow content that stirs outrage later.

In 2016 when he shared a meme about Ms. Clinton that appeared to depict the Star of David atop a pile of cash, evoking an antisemitic trope. Mr. Trump deleted the image but called it “a basic star, often used by sheriffs”.

Last month, Mr. Trump drew backlash for sharing a video meme on Truth Social that included references to a “unified Reich” among hypothetical news headlines if he wins the election in November.

The “unified Reich” meme was created by an outside group of meme makers that The New York Times reported has collaborated with the Trump campaign. The Dilley Meme Team describes itself as “America’s greatest MAGA Members” and “Trump’s Online War Machine” with their creations sometimes shared by Mr. Trump himself.

The campaign said the video was shared by a staffer who saw it online and did not see the reference. Mr. Trump’s campaign denied it coordinates with the group but said it appreciates the effort of outside creators.

Brenden Dilley, who leads the Dilley Meme Team, did not respond to emailed questions about the group’s work but posted a reply on X saying he would grant an interview in January 2025, after the next presidential inauguration.

Whose memes are going furthest?

It’s hard to say. Both candidates have tens of millions of followers across social media networks, as do their campaign accounts, but it’s difficult to track the number of times any particular meme is shared, or remixed and shared again.

Mr. Trump has more social media followers than Mr. Biden on Instagram, TikTok, Truth Social (Mr. Trump’s social media network) and X, though the former president has only used X once since his account on the site, then known as Twitter, was locked after the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Mr. Trump’s lone post since then was to post his mug shot. It, too, has become a meme.

Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. authored ‘A Letter to Liberals’. He feared the “pharma cartel” was manipulating COVID-19 management, and the governments were bullies whose hallmark became “cancel culture”. The 120-page booklet was a lament. The Democratic Party should return to its roots, the storied FDR/JFK liberalism, which “prided itself on its open-minded tolerance of contrary opinion… and its fearless love for contention and disputation”.

RFK Jr., as he is widely known, wants to lead by example. When the Kennedy clan decided to endorse incumbent Joe Biden in the November elections, there was little resentment. “I am pleased they are politically active — it’s a family tradition,” RFK Jr., who is standing in the presidential election as an independent, wrote on X. The 70-year-old might be a namesake to Robert F. Kennedy, the former U.S. Attorney General, but “he does not share the same values, vision or judgment”, according to his siblings. But this does not dishearten RFK Jr. “We are divided in our opinions but united in our love for each other”, and this “healing” is possible for America too.

The Kennedy campaign of 2024 is built on similar contentions and contradictions. He is a Democrat and an environmentalist, spouting anti-vaccine sentiments to a rousing Republican voter base. Fear grows this “spoiler” may peel away votes from Mr. Biden and the Republican nominee Donald Trump. Anything goes, he says, to “break the two-party system”.

A puzzling pitch

RFK Jr. is a political enigma. He wants to “reclaim” the Democratic Party while sustaining links with far-right figures. The Great American Evils are corporate “elites”, says RFK Jr., a millionaire hailing from the Great American Family. He identifies himself as “pro-choice”, but abortion is a “tragedy”. He refutes the anti-vaccine label, before spewing misinformed, debunked ideas that vaccines can cause autism. The Kennedy heir has faith in scientific empiricism, but maintains that COVID-19 is “targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people”.

These claims “play[s] on anti-Semitic myths” and are “morally and factually wrong”, came a counter from his brother Joseph Kennedy II. Before entering politics, RFK Jr., the environmentalist, won legal battles against corporate polluters. Now, he endorses bitcoins, which leave behind a significant carbon footprint, and pitches “freedom and free markets” as a climate solution. His running mate Nicole Shanahan called him the “only anti-war candidate today”; RFK Jr., however, has defended Israel’s “right to self-defence” and opposes a ceasefire in Gaza.

Since 2004, RFK Jr. has distinguished himself as a conspiracy theorist. He believes his uncle Joan F. Kennedy, the former President, was assassinated by “members of the CIA”; the 2004 presidential elections were stolen; mass shootings are linked to prescription drugs; chemicals in water could turn children transgender.

RFK Jr. insists his “populist movement defies left-right division”; the anger and aggression are a distant echo of Mr. Trump’s rabble-rousing politics. The media is a “mercenary” operation, “here to fortify all of the corporate orthodoxies from their advertisers”; the “corporate capture” of the government is the root of American despair. A Politico analysis showed that in the 69 times he has appeared on television since January, nearly half were with conservative or openly ‘anti-woke’ hosts. On immigration, he thinks Mr. Biden has failed to manage the illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border. He has also opposed Mr. Trump’s plan to build a wall, while vowing to “close the border” if elected.

His policies include cutting military expenses, fixing economic inequality, reducing student debt, and freeing the American people from the clutches of Wall Street. Early polls show RFK Jr. holds appeal across political lines, mostly among the younger demographic. He held a favourability rating of +25%; Mr. Biden was at minus 2% and Mr. Trump at +7%, according to a Harvard poll in November last year.

“…the far right and the far left [seem to] wrap around and can coalesce around a candidate like this,” author Melissa Smith told Al Jazeera.

Inconsistencies make for intrigue in the 2024 presidential election bid. History is not kind to third-party candidates, but the Kennedy candidacy could become a “spoiler” in the decidedly close race between Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump. To Mr. Trump, RFK Jr. is a “Democrat ‘Plant’” and “far more LIBERAL than anyone running as a Democrat”. The Democratic National Committee has set up a war room to deal with “third-party threats” such as Mr. Kennedy. Polls also show Mr. Trump’s lead over Mr. Biden can widen from anywhere between 2 to 8 points if RFK Jr. stays on the ballot.

The potential spoiler faces pushback from the Kennedy clan. A Kennedy name on the ballot, the siblings fear, would make Democrats feel “torn” between the nephew of former president JFK and the incumbent Mr. Biden, an outcome “perilous” for America’s future. The family is thus bolstering Mr. Biden’s re-election bid: being photographed at the White House; descending on the campaign trail; and stepping up media appearances.

RFK Jr.’s “misguided stands on issues, his poor judgement, and tenuous relationship with the truth” make him unfit for the presidency, his cousin Stephen Kennedy Smith said. There is the added risk to the Kennedy legacy, should RFK Jr. tip the elections in favour of the Republic nominee. The family line is clear: RFK Jr.’s presidential bid is “dangerous to the country”. He is “trading in on Camelot celebrity conspiracy theories and conflict for personal gain and fame,” wrote JFK’s grandson Jack Schlossberg on Instagram (King Arthur’s castle Camelot has become a metaphor for the Kennedy dynasty in his rallies). “Let’s not be distracted again by somebody’s vanity project.”

Distraction is RFK Jr.’s design. To the victor belong the spoils, the saying goes, but the third candidate is happy to set alight the treasures. He wants to “spoil [the race] for both of them [Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden]” and take the ravaged Americans “over the castle walls together”.

Seeking a return to the White House, Donald Trump has painted an apocalyptic picture of the country if President Joe Biden secures a second term. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has drawn criticism for posting a video on social media that contains the image of a hog-tied President Joe Biden painted on the tailgate of a passing truck.

The Biden campaign was quick to condemn the video for suggesting physical harm to the sitting Democratic President. Mr. Biden has portrayed his likely 2024 opponent as someone who freely evokes Nazi imagery with regard to immigrants, while also stressing in speeches that Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn his loss in the 2020 elections ultimately led to an assault on the U.S. Capitol.

OPINION | 2024 U.S. Presidential election as a Biden-Trump rematch

“Mr. Trump is regularly inciting political violence and it’s time people take him seriously — just ask the Capitol police officers who were attacked protecting our democracy on January 6,” said Michael Tyler, the Biden campaign’s communications director.

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung responded Friday night: “That picture was on the back of a pickup truck that was traveling down the highway. Democrats and crazed lunatics have not only called for despicable violence against President Trump and his family, they are actually weaponising the justice system against him.”

The former president posted the video on his social media site, Truth Social. His caption said the video was taken in Long Island, New York. It shows a passing truck decked out with “Trump 2024” and flags claiming support for police.

Shares in Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. began trading on the stock market Tuesday, with the valuation adding billions of dollars to his fortune.

Seeking a return to the White House, Mr. Trump has painted an apocalyptic picture of the country if Mr. Biden secures a second term.

Also Read | Donald Trump warns of ‘bloodbath’ if he is not elected

“If I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole — that’s going to be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country,” he warned at an Ohio rally earlier this month while talking about the impact of offshoring on the country’s auto industry.

Mr. Trump has talked about immigrants “poisoning the blood of our country,” echoing the rhetoric of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. And he once described his enemies as “vermin,” language that his opponents say reflects his authoritarian beliefs.

At one recent rally, Mr. Trump went so far as to cast Mr. Biden’s handling of the border as “a conspiracy to overthrow the United States of America.”

Last year, before his indictment in New York over hush money paid on his behalf during his 2016 campaign, Mr. Trump posted a photo on social media of himself holding a baseball bat next to a picture of District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

U.S. Republican presidential hopeful and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign rally at Norfolk Hall at Suffolk Punch in Charlotte, North Carolina, on March 1, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Indian-American Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has bagged her first senatorial endorsement as her campaign announced that it has raised a whopping $12 million in February.

Yet to win a single primary so far, Ms. Haley on Friday ruled out a third-party run asserting that she is a Republican to the core.

Fighting a losing Republican primary battle against her former boss and former president Donald Trump, the Indian-American is trailing behind by a massive 64 points against her main rival in the Super Tuesday States.

Also Read | Trump vows to crush Haley as Republican race heads south

Ms. Haley, 52, who has gone ballistic against Mr. Trump, 77, ahead of the Super Tuesday primary, however, ruled out a third-party run if she is defeated in the party’s electoral battle.

“All the talk about the independent No Labels, all that — I haven’t talked to anybody about that. I know that they have sent smoke signals, but I’m a Republican,” she told reporters at a media round table in Washington.

The Indian-American was in Washington DC to address Republican supporters in the national capital where she hammed Mr. Trump for his policies and told her party colleagues that the country could no longer afford to have another four years of chaos.

“When I started the race…we had 14 people in the race. I defeated a dozen of the fellas. I just have one more I have to catch up to,” she said.

“Do we want more of the same or do we want to go in a new direction?” she told her supporters in Washington DC.

Meanwhile, Ms. Haley bagged her first senatorial endorsement from Senator Lisa Murkowski from Alaska. “I’m proud to endorse Gov. Nikki Haley,” Sen. Murkowski said.

“America needs someone with the right values, vigour, and judgment to serve as our next President — and in this race, there is no one better than her. Nikki will be a strong leader and uphold the ideals of the Republican Party while serving as a President for all Americans,”  she said.

“I’m grateful to Sen. Murkowski for her support and leadership,” Ms. Haley said.

“Sen. Murkowski represents the best of Alaska — she is a trailblazer and a strong, independent voice who doesn’t bow down to the powers that be in Washington. As President, I will fight to make Alaskans — and all Americans — proud by restoring fiscal sanity, energy dominance, and limited government,” she said.

Her campaign was announced to have raised $12 million in February. She had raised $16.5 million in January, the highest ever for her. The $8.5 million in grassroots donations is a testimony to Ms. Haley’s support among hardworking Americans who are “tired” of Donald Trump’s “chaos and division”, the campaign said.

“A substantial portion of Republicans are rejecting Trump’s divisive politics and isolationist policies,” said.

“They are rallying around Nikki Haley’s conservative message, sending small-dollar contributions with handwritten messages, and showing up in droves as she travels across the Super Tuesday states. Like Nikki, they believe America is worth fighting for,” she said.

In an interview with CNN, Ms. Haley said that she is not anti-Trump. “I defeated a dozen of the fellas because I focused on each and every one of them getting out. The last one was always going to be Donald Trump. The goal was always to get this one-on-one with Trump. What you’re hearing me say now is a contrast. That’s what people want. They want to know the differences,” she said.

“I am not anti-Trump. I am for America and the direction America can go. If you look at the Republican Party, I believe in fiscal discipline. I believe in smaller government. I believe we need to stop wasteful spending. Donald Trump didn’t shrink the government, he grew the government. He put us $8 trillion in debt in just four years, more than any other President. He is not talking about fiscal discipline or debt,” Ms. Haley said.

“I believe national security is about peace through strength. Donald Trump is talking about holding hands with Putin as he invades our allies. He’s talking about isolationism. I don’t believe in that.  I believe that we should have a country where the American Dream is possible and that we don’t have this tent of anger and division. Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both led into that,” she said in response to a question.

A threat of duelling party conventions to choose a presidential nominee this weekend. Accusations of adultery, corruption and incompetence. A barrage of social media attacks and a police investigation.

The Michigan Republican Party is in turmoil, raising fears among some Republicans that support for former President Donald Trump’s re-election bid could suffer in a battleground state that Democratic President Joe Biden won by 2.8 percentage points in 2020.

The fight to oust Kristina Karamo, elected as Republican party chair in Michigan last year, has become increasingly bitter and personal, leaving deep divisions in the local party, according to three dozen party members who spoke to Reuters.

At the centre of that battle is Bree Moeggenberg. The 44-year-old member of the Republican state committee — a governing board for the party in Michigan — helped organise a January 6 vote by some committee members to remove Ms. Karamo.

Ms. Moeggenberg and others blame Ms. Karamo — a fiery grassroots activist who backs Mr. Trump’s false claims of election fraud — for stifling dissent within the party, a lack of transparency in decision-making, and driving away wealthy donors.

The Republican National Committee — which helps to coordinate the party’s fundraising and election strategy across America — ruled in February that Ms. Karamo’s removal was legitimate and recognised Pete Hoekstra, ambassador to the Netherlands during Mr. Trump’s presidency, as the new chair. Mr. Trump has thrown his support behind Mr. Hoekstra.

Ms. Karamo has contested the vote and the rival factions have announced duelling conventions on Saturday to choose a presidential nominee and award delegates to the party’s national convention in July.

Ms. Karamo retains a loyal following among a contingent of the party’s roughly 2,000 precinct delegates and its 107-person state committee, but a court ruling this week affirming her removal as chair has put her convention and future with the party in doubt.

Among Republican activists, the fighting has become personal. Several Karamo supporters and anonymous online trolls have, without evidence, accused Ms. Moeggenberg of having an affair with a married man, Andy Sebolt, another state committee member.

Both Ms. Moeggenberg and Mr. Sebolt deny the allegations. Ms. Moeggenberg has accused Ms. Karamo and her supporters of character assassination. “Such destructive behaviour has been a core cause of division in the party,” she told Reuters.

Ms. Karamo’s signature was on an official email newsletter in January that directed party members to a Telegram messaging chatroom with a series of anonymous posts repeating the adultery allegations, some uploaded days before the crucial party vote.

Ms. Karamo did not respond to a request for comment on the adultery allegations and intra-party strife.

A number of the three dozen party members in Michigan who spoke to Reuters expressed concern that the acrimony risked leaving Republican activists disillusioned and less likely to volunteer or vote. Among the disenchanted are many grass-roots donors Ms. Karamo courted with promises of breaking the party’s reliance on the moneyed elite.

Daniel Harrington, 62, who wrote two $1,776 checks last year in support of Ms. Karamo, says he won’t be donating to the party or helping it get out the vote in November if she is ousted. As precinct delegate, he was planning to participate in Ms. Karamo’s convention in Detroit.

“We’re upset with Trump, absolutely,” said Mr. Harrington, who voted for the former president in 2016 and 2020 but was angry at how he abandoned Ms. Karamo. “I’d like to send a message wherever the convention is going to be to not elect Trump.”

A conservative, Mr. Harrington said he would probably still vote for Mr. Trump in November, if given the choice of him and Democratic President Joe Biden. Mr. Trump won Michigan’s primary convincingly on Tuesday, securing 12 of 16 delegates up for grabs. The remaining 39 of Michigan’s 55 delegates are due to be allocated on Saturday.

The impact of the turmoil within the party has already hit campaign coffers. Donations into a state-level account came to just under $20,000 from the start of Ms. Karamo’s tenure to the end of 2023, down sharply from $690,000 during the same period four years earlier, according to a Reuters review of filings.

Contributions to the state party’s federal account also suffered, with reported fundraising totaling about $900,000 last year, down from about $1.5 million four years earlier in 2019.

Personal divisions

The tensions in Michigan are driven as much by personal animus as any ideology. Ms. Karamo and her supporters describe “establishment” Republicans — those aligned with business interests and traditional donors — as corrupt, and tend to be very conservative in their policy beliefs. The members backing Mr. Hoekstra are also conservative but told Reuters they are willing to work with wealthy donors. They accuse Ms. Karamo of incompetence.

“We’re so very fractured,” said Kelly Sackett, one of two people from the rival factions claiming to be the party chair in Kalamazoo County, where a battle for control has been playing out in courtrooms and police reports. “I don’t see it all coming back together.”

A judge in Kent County, Michigan on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction saying that Ms. Karamo was properly removed and preventing her from representing herself as chair of the party in Michigan. On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals denied Ms. Karamo’s request to suspend Tuesday’s ruling while it weighs her ongoing appeal.

Despite the rulings, Ms. Karamo has yet to call off Saturday’s planned convention in Detroit. Mr. Hoekstra has convened a meeting the same day in Grand Rapids, confident his delegates will be recognised at the national convention in July.

No stranger to controversy

Ms. Moeggenberg, a single mother of three who runs a daycare at her home, is no stranger to controversy. She was until recently chair of the Isabella County chapter of Moms for Liberty, a conservative nonprofit that fought COVID-era mask mandates and teaching about LGBT rights.

When Mr. Sebolt’s wife Jennifer first messaged her privately on Facebook last June accusing her of sleeping with her husband, a tense exchange ensued.

Ms. Jennifer told Reuters she was also upset with her husband for working with Ms. Moeggenberg and others to undermine Ms. Karamo, who she supports. Ms. Jennifer did not provide evidence of an affair.

In July, as Ms. Moeggenberg ramped up pressure on Ms. Karamo, Charles Ritchard, a backer of the embattled chair, started attacking Ms. Moeggenberg and Mr. Sebolt with Facebook posts containing sexual innuendo and unsubstantiated claims of corruption.

Mr. Ritchard told Reuters he targeted Ms. Moeggenberg because she was pressuring others in her district to move against Ms. Karamo.

Following an adultery complaint submitted by Mr. Sebolt’s wife, the state police opened an investigation that prosecutors in both Oceana and Isabella counties declined to pursue, citing a lack of evidence and jurisdictional issues, according to a letter from the Oceana prosecutor on October 9 and police report dated October 10, reviewed by Reuters.

In November, Ms. Jennifer nonetheless went public with adultery allegations against her husband, posting them on Facebook. Other Karamo supporters piled in.

Mr. Hoekstra said he was confident the party would come together to back Mr. Trump and work towards winning a U.S. Senate seat up for grabs in November after the Democratic incumbent announced she would not run. Mr. Hoekstra told Reuters he has spoken with several big donors ready to write checks for the party, once leadership has changed. He did not identify the donors.

Penny Swan, a precinct delegate from the city of Hillsdale, is less sanguine about the party’s prospects.

“Our party is too involved in this turmoil and the fight within the party to do what we’re supposed to be doing: helping candidates and fundraising,” said Penny Swan, a precinct delegate from the city of Hillsdale. “I am absolutely worried.”