Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign is off to a roaring start, after she appeared to clinch enough delegates Monday night to secure the Democratic nomination and hit the campaign trail Tuesday.
“I am so very honored, and I pledge to you, I will spend the coming weeks continuing to unite our party so that we are ready to win in November,” Harris said at her first political rally as a 2024 presidential candidate in Milwaukee on Tuesday afternoon.
The Milwaukee crowd broke into chants of “Ka-ma-la” and roared with cheers as Harris told them, “The path to the White House goes through Wisconsin.” The campaign reportedly had to switch venues at the last minute to accommodate a bigger crowd, as more than 3,000 people responded to the event.
Supporters greeted Harris in Milwaukee with hand-painted signs, including one that said “Kamala Harris changes lives. Watch her change the world.”
President Biden won the crucial battleground state by a few thousand votes in 2020. Both the Harris and Trump campaigns are zeroing in on key Midwestern swing states such as Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Early polling from Reuters/Ipsos shows that Harris opened a 2-percentage-point lead over Trump, which is within a 3-point margin of error. She led Trump 44% to 42%, according to the national poll released Tuesday. On the question of which presidential candidate is “mentally sharp and able to deal with challenges,” Harris polled at 56%, compared with 49% for Trump and 22% for Biden.
In an NPR/PBS News/Marist poll released Tuesday, Trump holds a 1-point lead over Harris in a head-to-head race, also within the margin of error. When other candidates — such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Cornel West, Jill Stein and Chase Oliver — are included, Trump and Harris tie, the poll found. More than 3 in 4 Democrats agree Harris should be the party’s nominee.
The Trump campaign was quick to anticipate an onslaught of polls favoring Harris, with campaign pollster Tony Fabrizio telling supporters in a memo to expect a “Harris honeymoon.”
“But the fundamentals of the race stay the same. The Democrats deposing one nominee for another does not change voters discontent over the economy, inflation, crime, the open border, housing costs not to mention concern over two foreign wars,” Fabrizio wrote. “Before long, Harris’ ‘honeymoon’ will end and voters will refocus on her role as Biden’s partner and co-pilot. As importantly, voters will also learn about Harris’ dangerously liberal record.”
In a call to reporters Tuesday, Trump said he would gladly debate his new opponent.
Harris is riding a wave of momentum toward securing the Democratic nomination that began swiftly after Biden announced Sunday he was stepping aside and endorsing Harris. The vice president racked up support from every corner of the Democratic Party, with a flood of endorsements, cash and support from Hollywood donors. The Harris campaign announced Monday that it had raised $81 million from more than 880,000 donors, breaking a record for the most cash raised in a 24-hour period. Already, the campaign was pushing “Harris for President” merchandise, including a “Madam President” mug.
Biden, intent on showing that he will finish his presidency strong, is scheduled to give an address from the Oval Office Wednesday at 5 p.m. PDT. He returned to Washington on Tuesday from his Delaware home, where he was isolating with COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) endorsed Harris on Tuesday, becoming the last of the Democrats’ elected top brass to back the vice president.
“She is ready, she is willing, she is able to energetically and emphatically lead America into the future,” Jeffries said at a news conference.
More crucially, several state delegations pledged their vote for her — including California’s, the largest in the nation. Delegates are headed to Chicago in August to formalize the Democratic presidential nomination, but the national party is expected to host a virtual roll call vote before then.
Reps. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands) and Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) said in a news conference Tuesday that House Democrats are united in their goal of defeating Trump and helping Harris with her sprint to the general election. Aguilar added that “as Californians, we have immense pride in the vice president.”
President Biden speaks during a campaign event with former President Obama at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on June 15, 2024.
(Alex Brandon / Associated Press)
“California will play a significant role in this political year,” Aguilar said. “I think having the vice president at the top of the ticket will be incredibly hopeful. We know her. We know her track record. We know her as our United States senator. We know her as our attorney general. We know the tough-minded prosecutor that she is, that she’s going to prosecute the case against Donald Trump, and she’s going to remind Californians what’s at stake.”
Already, many famous Californians have thrown their support behind Harris. Several Hollywood names including Spike Lee, Aaron Sorkin, Shonda Rhimes and Mindy Kaling expressed excitement in social media posts Tuesday. Actor George Clooney endorsed Harris in a statement to CNN on Tuesday, just two weeks after he penned a bombshell op-ed in the New York Times calling for Biden to quit the race.
Clooney has long been a Democratic supporter and donor, including for Biden. In June, he and fellow actor Julia Roberts co-hosted a Hollywood fundraiser that raised more than $30 million for the president. But in the op-ed, headlined “I Love Joe Biden. But We Need a New Nominee,” Clooney said the president had clearly declined — further cementing the image that rocked the nation when Biden appeared weak and flustered at his June debate against Trump.
“President Biden has shown what true leadership is. He’s saving democracy once again,” Clooney said in his statement Tuesday. “We’re all so excited to do whatever we can to support Vice President Harris in her historic quest.”