Key events
Harris and Walz kick off bus tour of Georgia to build momentum in swing state
Good morning, US politics blog readers. There are seven swing states whose voters are expected to decide the November presidential election: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, North Carolina, Arizona and Georgia. It’s that last state which will be getting special attention from Kamala Harris and Tim Walz over the next two days, as they look to preserve inroads made by Joe Biden four years ago, when he became the first Democrat to win its electoral votes since 1992. The pair is kicking off a bus tour of the state’s southern counties on Wednesday that will culminate on Thursday with Harris holding a rally in Savannah.
Their campaign says that Harris and Walz are aiming to build off their momentum from last week’s convention, when they accepted the party’s nomination amid enthusiasm from Democrats. They’re also aiming to win a state that may be the toughest to hold in November – polls generally show Donald Trump with the advantage among Georgia voters, though the gap has grown narrower since Harris entered the race. We’ll see what the vice-president and Minnesota governor encounter as they traverse the state today.
Here’s what else is happening:
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Trump earlier this week visited Arlington national cemetery, and his campaign staff had an altercation with an official who tried to prevent them from taking pictures in area where only employees are allowed to do so, NPR reports. The Trump campaign has rejected their description of events.
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The Cook Political Report, the closely watched forecaster, now views North Carolina as a “toss up” in the presidential election. The state hasn’t voted for a Democratic candidate since 2008.
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The Senate GOP campaign arm is buying ads for incumbent Ted Cruz, in a sign that polls of his re-election race against Democrat Colin Allred in the Republican bastion may be too close for comfort.