Paragraph 1:Paragraph 1: President Joe Biden’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris has ignited enthusiasm within the Democratic party, resulting in a surge in donations ($200 million), promising vice presidential options, and improved poll numbers. Paragraph 2: Harris faces challenges in sustaining the initial excitement as former President Donald Trump and his campaign intensify attacks, focusing on her immigration policies and past statements. Paragraph 3: This week, Democratic delegates may nominate Harris as early as Thursday. Meanwhile, Harris will narrow down her choices for a running mate and begin campaigning in key states. Paragraph 4: Governor Steve Sisolak emphasizes the need to maintain the momentum generated by Harris’ endorsement and calls for continued effort. Paragraph 5: Harris and her delegates plan to campaign in Pennsylvania on Monday, and Harris will make her first presidential candidate appearance in Georgia on Tuesday. Paragraph 6: Trump and Vice Presidential candidate J.D. Vance will attend rallies in Pennsylvania and focus on criticizing Harris’ immigration policies and past comments. Paragraph 7: Vance faces scrutiny for past controversial comments, including his mockery of “childless cat ladies” and his support for higher taxes on childless Americans. Paragraph 8: Republicans claim Harris is too progressive for the country and criticize her past policies. Paragraph 9: Harris acknowledges the long road ahead and attempts to guard against complacency. Paragraph 10: Democratic surrogates, including Elizabeth Warren and Tim Walz, defend Harris against Republican attacks and promote her moderate credentials.
When President Joe Biden said just over a week ago that he would withdraw from the presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, immediately galvanizing the beleaguered Democratic base.
The party rallied behind Harris as positive memes and stats about Democrats poured in over the past week: $200 million in donations, a long list of promising vice presidential options and a string of improved poll numbers.
Harris faces more difficult tasks in the coming weeks: maintaining that enthusiasm as the initial excitement fades as the former President Donald Trump and his campaign are sharpening their attacks on her.
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This week alone holds significant milestones. Democratic delegates could vote virtually to nominate Harris as early as Thursday, the date the Democratic National Committee said it would do so if only one candidate emerged.
And speculation about a running mate will run rampant this week as Harris narrows down her choices ahead of an Aug. 7 deadline she has set. She has authorized Eric H. Holder Jr., the former attorney general, and his law firm, Covington & Burling, to vet potential candidates.
“I would call it a honeymoon,” said Steve Sisolak, the former Democratic governor of Nevada, a key swing state. “We’ve got to keep the energy going. You started it — now you’ve got to keep it going. It’s going to be a challenge for everybody.”
Harris and her top delegates are expected to keep up their pace early this week, with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro — the latter seen as a serious vice presidential contender — campaigning for Harris in Pennsylvania on Monday.
On Tuesday, Harris will make her first appearance as a presidential candidate this cycle in Georgia, where she has been campaigning in Atlanta as she works to keep the state in play in November. Biden turned Georgia blue in 2020, but the president’s lagging poll numbers had prompted many Democrats to all but write it off this year. Harris, as she works to win back the support of key blocs of the Democratic coalition — including Black people, women, younger voters and college-educated suburbanites — could build new momentum there.
Trump and his allies will also be active. The former president is holding a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, is expected to appear at a series of events in the Western battleground states of Nevada and Arizona. In two states with large Hispanic populations, Vance is likely to continue to criticize Harris on immigration, calling her the “border czar,” an attack Republicans see as effective after Biden appointed her to address the “root causes” of migration from Central American countries.
Vance has his own controversies. He has been criticized for past comments that have resurfaced in the past week and a half, including his mockery of “childless cat ladies,” his assertion that childless Americans should pay higher taxes and his correspondence with a former law school classmate in which he expressed political views that differ sharply from his current ones and said, “I hate the police.” Vance’s allies and opponents alike will be watching his performances this week closely to see how well he recovers.
Republicans have also begun to attack Harris for her past policies and statements. They have revived her presidential campaign, claiming that she is a radical left voter from California who is too progressive for the rest of the country.
“They’re going to attack her, sure. Of course they’re going to attack her,” said Claire McCaskill, the former Democratic senator from Missouri. “But so far they’ve just tried to somehow dissuade her from supporting law enforcement, and that rings a little hollow coming from a vice presidential candidate who we now know has said in writing, ‘I hate the police.’”
Harris acknowledged that the road ahead is long. At a fundraiser last weekend, she tried to temper expectations and guard against complacency.
“We’ve got a lot of fight ahead of us and we’re the underdogs in this race, okay?” Harris said.
The next morning, the Sunday news programs featured a slew of Democratic surrogates defending her against Republican attacks.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who ran to Harris’ left in the 2020 Democratic primary, took to CNN to tout her moderate credentials. She praised Harris for supporting bipartisan legislation this year that would have enacted hardline border policies more often supported by Republicans. It was Trump, Warren noted, who torpedoed that deal.
Another group of surrogates auditioned to be Harris’ running mate, following the time-honored political tradition of insisting they weren’t thinking about it. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz vigorously defended himself when asked on CNN whether some of his policies — such as free meals for schoolchildren and free college tuition for low-income residents — might be seen as too liberal for a general election audience.
“What a monster. Kids are eating and having full bellies so they can learn and women are making their own decisions about their health care, and we’re a top five business state and we’re also in the top three for happiness,” Walz said with a laugh.
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