By Stephanie Kelly
WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) -Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential marketing campaign is staffing up in battleground states over the following two weeks together with within the ‘Solar Belt’ that more and more regarded out of attain for President Joe Biden, citing momentum for her White Home bid as grassroots engagement and fundraising soar.
“Our grassroots engagement is proving that Kamala Harris is strong in both the Sunbelt and the Blue Wall – with multiple pathways to 270 (electoral votes),” wrote Dan Kanninen, the marketing campaign’s battleground states director in a memo on Saturday.
The Sunbelt refers to states together with Georgia, Arizona and Nevada, and the Blue Wall consists of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. U.S. President Joe Biden received all six of these states in 2020 by skinny margins, however simply weeks in the past, his marketing campaign stated the Solar Belt and North Carolina regarded more and more out of attain.
Harris’ takeover of the Democratic presidential marketing campaign has injected new power, cash and enthusiasm into the race, which is translating right into a shift in polls that present her pulling even with Republican former President Donald Trump or forward in some battleground states.
Since Biden endorsed Harris on July 21, 200,000 volunteers have joined the Harris marketing campaign, whereas over 350,000 supporters attended their first cellphone financial institution, rally or different marketing campaign occasion – an over 350% improve in occasion attendees, Kanninen stated.
Her marketing campaign introduced on Friday it raised $310 million in July, fueled by small-dollar donations.
Within the subsequent two weeks, the marketing campaign will add 150 extra employees within the “Blue Wall,” and can greater than double its employees in Arizona and North Carolina, Kanninen stated.
Harris marketing campaign operations on the bottom are extra in depth than Trump’s, he stated.
“In Nevada, Team Harris has 13 offices, while Trump has just one,” Kanninen wrote. “In Pennsylvania, we have 36 coordinated offices while Trump has just three. In Georgia, we have 24 offices while the Trump team didn’t open their first until June.”
The Trump marketing campaign didn’t instantly verify the accuracy of these numbers, and didn’t reply to a request for remark.
This week Trump’s marketing campaign was set to launch a $10 million promoting blitz in six battleground states. An excellent PAC supporting Trump, MAGA Inc., kicked off a parallel advert blitz after it stated it should spend $32 million in three states with new advertisements criticizing Harris.
Some political consultants have questioned Trump’s lack of marketing campaign infrastructure in current days.
“Those of us who are interested in voting are like, ‘Why don’t you need a ground game?'” political historian Heather Cox Richardson stated in a Fb (NASDAQ:) livestream. “It really takes feet on the ground, knuckles on doors, meetings with people, everything to get money circulating … He is not trying to get enough votes.”
Harris was anticipated to fulfill in individual this weekend with the highest contenders vying to hitch the ticket because the candidate for vp, Reuters reported on Friday, citing sources.
The schedule for Minnesota Governor Tim Walz – one of many main contenders – has modified and he’s now not touring to New Hampshire this weekend, spokesperson Teddy Tschann stated on Saturday.
Different prime names embody Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.
Harris held a marginal one-percentage-point lead over Trump in a current Reuters/Ipsos ballot, closing the hole that opened within the last weeks of Biden’s reelection bid.
The three-day ballot confirmed Harris supported by 43% of registered voters, with Trump supported by 42%, inside the ballot’s 3.5 share level margin of error.
