Vice President Kamala Harris is making the biggest decision of her two-week-old presidential campaign as she chooses a running mate and prepares to introduce the new Democratic ticket to voters in several key battleground states this week.
Harris is focusing on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CNN, although the process, these sources cautioned, is still fluid and none of the finalists can be ruled out until Harris makes her decision. Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly remained in the running as of Monday afternoon, a source told CNN.
The decision is expected to be made later Monday, and once it is made, the vice president would inform a small team of top advisers and her pick. Sources cautioned, however, that the decision is ultimately Harris’ to make – and if she needed more time, the final decision could slide into Tuesday.
The campaign plans to officially announce the choice through an online message to supporters before a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday, where she’s expected to make her first appearance with her pick. Harris hopes to keep it under wraps “until as close to then as possible,” a person familiar with the search told CNN.
The whirlwind vice presidential search entered its final hours Sunday after Harris had interviewed three final contenders — Walz, Shapiro and Kelly — and weighed her choice with advisers out of public view for three straight days.
An extraordinary campaign for and against the candidates broke out across the spectrum of the Democratic Party last week and over the weekend. Different stakeholders have made their own arguments about who would be most electable against Trump — and who could help Harris sustain the streak of positive news her campaign has been riding for the past two weeks, while the former president has been put on the defensive over his own vice-presidential pick, Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
Since President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid last month and endorsed Harris, the vice president has locked up the support of the Democratic Party and improved on the president’s polling against Trump. A new CBS News/YouGov poll released Sunday, for example, found no clear leader between Harris and Trump among likely voters nationally — whereas Biden had been down 5 points in previous CBS News/YouGov polling. A CNN average of four recent polls also found a close matchup between the two, with Trump averaging the support of 49% and Harris averaging 47%.
Harris’ candidacy has energized Democrats and stirred donors, with her campaign announcing last week that it had raised $310 million in July, more than double Trump’s haul of $138.7 million. And on Friday, the Democratic National Committee announced that Harris had won enough delegate support to win the party’s nomination ahead of the end of the voting period Monday.
It was four years ago this week that Biden announced his decision to choose Harris as his running mate. He did so on August 11, 2020, through a text message and email to his supporters. Harris is hoping to make her choice known in the same manner, aides said, in hopes of building anticipation and a massive campaign list.
“I want you to be the first to know who I am selecting to serve alongside me as Vice President,” Harris wrote in a campaign email last week to supporters. “Add your name to this exclusive list of supporters who will be notified immediately when the news breaks.”
Her running mate selection will also help shape the ticket at a time when Harris has been trying to moderate her image with voters since her short-lived presidential campaign in 2019. Last week, her campaign clarified her position on a number of issues, including that she no longer supports “Medicare for All” or a ban on fracking. And on Sunday, Republicans for Biden relaunched in support of Harris — as the vice president’s team hopes to win over Republicans who oppose Trump and independents and make clear that she is not a “San Francisco radical.”
Harris’s Strategy: Focusing on Battleground States
Harris’s Race to the Nomination
Vice President Kamala Harris, grappling with how to keep early 2024 Presidential election momentum alive, is also preparing for a crucial week that includes her most critical decision yet: choosing a running mate.
While Harris has secured enough delegates to become the Democratic nominee, delegates still have to participate in a “virtual roll call” to solidify her nomination.
Harris was the only candidate eligible to receive votes after no other candidate qualified by a Tuesday night deadline. She’s looking to officially claim the nomination on Monday evening when the DNC is expected to release final results.
Trump’s Attacks on Harris’s Running Mate
Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, told Fox News on Sunday that Harris’ pick doesn’t matter to him.
“Whoever she chooses, the problem is going to be Kamala Harris’ record and Kamala Harris’ policies,” he said, adding “it’s not going to be good for the country.”
Harris’s Battleground Tour: Targeting Key Swing States
Harris and her running mate — whoever that is — will launch into an aggressive, seven-state battleground tour that begins in Philadelphia on Tuesday and winds through Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.
Her early rallies have attracted enthusiastic thousands. Campaign officials say each stop will be loaded with local election officials, religious leaders, union members and more in an effort to show the diversity of her coalition.
Campaign officials are aware that momentum can be fleeting and are working to capitalize on the energy now, while managing expectations by continuing to emphasize that the race with Republican nominee Donald Trump is tight.
Republicans for Harris: A Strategy to Win Over Republican Voters
Over the weekend, Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign launched “Republicans for Harris” as she looks to win over Republican voters put off by Donald Trump’s candidacy.
The program will be a “campaign within a campaign,” according to Harris’ team, using well-known Republicans to activate their networks, with a particular emphasis on primary voters who backed former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
Trump’s Attacks on Kemp: A Continued Push to Overturn 2020 Election Results
Over the weekend, Donald Trump picked a new fight with Georgia’s Republican governor as he campaigned in the key swing state where he’s looking to avenge his narrow 2020 loss — a defeat he continues to blame on GOP officials for not giving into his false theories of election fraud.
Trump attacked Gov. Brian Kemp on his social media site before his Saturday rally and said Kemp should be “fighting Crime, not fighting Unity and the Republican Party.”
At his Atlanta rally, Trump assailed Kemp in a roughly 10-minute tirade, blaming him for his loss to Democratic President Joe Biden and for not stopping a local district attorney from prosecuting him and several associates for his efforts to overturn the results.
Dueling Rallies in Georgia: A Snapshot of a Divided Nation
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump just held dueling rallies four days apart in the same Georgia location.
The competing events were staged three months before Election Day in the state that produced the closest margin of the 2020 race for the White House. On policy, tone, the types of voters in attendance and even the music playlists, the rallies offered not just opposing visions of the country but starkly different versions of it.
It’s a snapshot in a way of how a divided nation might embrace a Trump comeback or a Harris ascension.
Harris’s Battleground Tour: A Critical Week Ahead
Harris and her running mate are set to launch into an aggressive, seven-state battleground tour that begins tomorrow in Philadelphia and winds through Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.
The UAW’s Endorsement of Harris: A Show of Support for Labor
The hospitality workers’ union UNITE HERE endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president, a rejoinder to Republican Donald Trump’s effort to woo restaurant and hotel workers by promising to make their tips tax-free.
The endorsement includes a commitment by the union to have its members knock on more than 3.3 million doors for Harris in swing states.
Conclusion: A Tight Race with High Stakes
The 2024 presidential election is shaping up to be a tight race with high stakes. The outcome of the election will have a significant impact on the future of the country.
The choice of a running mate is a critical decision for any presidential candidate. Harris’s decision will be closely watched by voters and political analysts alike.
The battleground tour will be a key opportunity for Harris to connect with voters and build support for her campaign. Harris is hoping to build momentum and secure a victory in the election.
The upcoming weeks will be crucial for both Harris and Trump as they campaign across the country.
The election is shaping up to be a close race and the outcome is still uncertain.
