CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – Less than a week before the election, former President Donald Trump will make a stop in southwest Virginia.

He is holding a rally in Salem this Saturday, November 2nd.

Trump's campaign team has been claiming for months that Virginia is a winnable state. Now the former president returns to the Commonwealth three days before the election.

But Larry Sabato of the UVA Center for Politics warns against dwelling too much on the issue.

“What he's really trying to do is send the signal that we're going to win in a landslide. “Look at this. “We’re going to carry Virginia,” Sabato said.

Sabato said this campaign stop in Virginia and other left-leaning states is about pushing the idea that no place in the country is out of reach.

“He was in New Hampshire and is traveling to New Mexico,” Sabato said. “It’s about motivating your base.”

It also gives Trump a chance at a new venue and a new audience. In recent months, both Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have waged a tough campaign in swing states – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

“How many times can you go to the same place and have the same people show up saying the same things?” Sabato said. “It’s part of a traveling show. That's how it is on both sides. That’s what they do.”

This will be the first time since July that Trump or his vice presidential candidate JD Vance will lead a rally in Virginia, but the Trump campaign says it is putting its efforts on the commonwealth and could put it in the red.

Sabato disagrees and points to current survey results.

According to a Washington Post poll, Harris has a six-point lead over Trump.

No matter why, Trump will be in Salem, Virginia on Saturday.

“He's going to win by a big margin in Southwest Virginia,” Sabato said, “so you can be sure you're going to have a very good crowd that will be cheering your every word.”

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