Kamala Harris' candidacy shakes up presidential race 100 days from election
Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential bid is redefining the race in the final stretch. With 100 days remaining, Democrats say Harris is injecting new energy in the race while Republicans are ramping up attacks.
Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential bid is redefining the race in the final stretch. With 100 days remaining, Democrats say Harris is injecting new energy in the race while Republicans are ramping up attacks.
Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential bid is redefining the race in the final stretch. With 100 days remaining, Democrats say Harris is injecting new energy in the race while Republicans are ramping up attacks.
Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign is shaking up the presidential race in the final stretch as both sides race to redefine the likely Democratic nominee.
With exactly 100 days to go until Election Day, Democrats say Harris is injecting new energy into the campaign while Republicans are ramping up attacks. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump tested new talking points at a series of events this weekend.
Just short of one week since President Joe Biden ended his re-election bid, the Harris campaign reported recruiting more than 170,000 new volunteers and raising $200 million.
Harris added to the cash haul on Saturday with her first fundraiser since taking over the Democratic ticket. Her campaign announced the event in Pittsfield, Massachusetts was expected to bring in more than $1.4 million, exceeding the original goal set before President Biden鈥檚 departure by $1 million.
Harris is also working to expand support with key parts of the Democratic base that appeared to be eroding under Biden, including people of color and young voters.
鈥淲e know young voters will be key and we know your vote cannot be taken for granted, it must be earned and that is exactly what we will do,鈥� the Vice President said in a video message Saturday at the Voters of Tomorrow Summit in Atlanta, Georgia.
Social media is a growing part of that strategy, with Harris launching a new TikTok account in recent days. Her latest post features NSYNC鈥檚 Lance Bass asking Harris, 鈥淲hat are we going to say to Donald Trump in November?鈥� as the boy band鈥檚 hit song 鈥淏ye, Bye, Bye鈥� plays in the background.
There are some early signs the Harris playbook may be working.
A new Emerson College/The Hill poll suggests she鈥檚 closing the gap in five swing states, though Trump maintains a slight lead in most of them.
鈥淗arris has recovered a portion of the vote for the Democrats on the presidential ticket since the fallout after the June 27 debate,鈥� wrote Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling. 鈥淵oung voters have shifted toward Harris: her support compared to Biden increased by 16 points in Arizona, eight in Georgia, five in Michigan, 11 in Pennsylvania, and one in Wisconsin since earlier polling this month.鈥�
Another new survey from Fox News finds Harris and Trump are tied in the key swing states of Pennsylvania and Michigan. Trump leads by one point in battleground Wisconsin.
"I think what she does is put all the states that Biden won last time back into play," said Peter Loge, director of George Washington University鈥檚 School of Media and Public Affairs. 鈥�
As polls tighten, Trump spoke at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday, followed by a campaign rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
Trump鈥檚 attacks towards Harris ranged from personal to political. He said he is running against a 鈥渓ow IQ individual鈥� and that she will be 鈥渢he most extreme radical liberal president in American history.鈥�
Trump is also seeking to tie Harris to Biden鈥檚 record on inflation and immigration, both weaknesses for Democrats according to polling.
鈥淯nder 鈥楤order Czar Harris鈥�, millions of migrants are pouring across our border,鈥� Trump told the crowd in Minnesota.
It鈥檚 a message that鈥檚 flooding the airwaves. An analysis from The Associated Press published earlier this week found Trump and his allies are outspending Harris鈥� team 25-to-1 on television and radio advertising.
In her first campaign ad, Harris positioned herself as a defender of freedom, from reproductive rights to the 鈥渇reedom to be safe from gun violence.鈥�
鈥淭here are some people who think we should be a country of chaos, of fear, of hate. But us? We choose something different. We choose freedom,鈥� Harris says in the ad.
The national Democratic Party is expected to begin a virtual voting process to nominate its ticket this week. Harris could be approved as the nominee as early as Aug. 1st and she鈥檚 expected to choose a running mate by Aug. 7.