Former US President Donald Trump has rehired key members of his 2016 campaign staff, dug down for debate prep with ex-Democrat Tulsi Gabbard, and named his sons and significant funders to run his formal transition team, as polls show the Republican is tied with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Corey Lewandowski, who led Trump's victorious 2016 campaign, will return to assist Trump in his attempt at victory again in November, according to a statement from campaign co-managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita on Thursday. Lewandowski will be joined by Taylor Budowich, Alex Pfeiffer, Alex Bruesewitz, and Tim Murtaugh, all of whom were noted by Wiles and LaCivita as experienced members of previous Trump campaigns.

The Trump team dismissed Lewandowski soon before the 2016 election, alleging that he touched a female reporter. He was brought back four years later to manage a pro-Trump fundraising organization, but was sacked again in 2021 due to separate sexual misconduct charges.

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Trump's campaign did not specify what role Lewandowski and 4 other workers will play, but Trump told reporters on Thursday that Lewandowski will be a "personal envoy or he'll be at some level."

The Washington Post conducted recent a poll using their own model, revealing Democrat nominee Kamala Harris as the national favorite if the elections were held today, marked by her endorsement after President Joe Biden withdrew his candidacy on July 21.

As of Sunday, Harris leads The Washington Post's national polling average by obtaining two more percentage points nationally, while gaining a 2.1% point average in swing states since her endorsement, allowing her to lead in Wisconsin and Pennslyvania while closing the gap in Michigan, where her Republican counterpart Donald Trump leads by less than one percentage point. 

Harris' two roads to success

The vice president is faced with two possible routes to emerge victoriously in the November elections, according to The Post's polling model, indicating that Harris can secure votes in either the Rust Belt states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, and the Sun Belt States of Georgie, Arizona, Nevada, and North Carolina. Meanwhile, Trump would need to win in both the Rust Belt and Sun Belt states re-assume a second term in office. 

Since Harris has more paths to victory than Trump, the Democrat is viewed as more competitive in more states than the former president, potentially securing the required 270 votes or an electoral college victory based on the candidates' polling average.