Vice President Kamala Harris is riding the momentum of the presidential debate as she heads into an aggressive new phase of the campaign against Donald Trump, and the campaign hopes to use it to its advantage in the final stretch.
The Democratic presidential candidate is on a campaign tour of two key states following the debate that will help decide the election.
On Thursday, the vice president will travel to Charlotte and Greensboro, North Carolina, where she will hold two back-to-back campaign events. On Friday, she will stop in central Pennsylvania.
With just over fifty days to go until the debate, the vice president’s new “aggressive phase” will also include new ads showing key moments from the debate that got on the nerves of her rival Donald Trump.
Harris will even grant more media interviews, according to the campaign, as she has faced criticism for not having granted any solo in-depth interviews to date or held any press conferences since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee.
At the same time, the vice president’s surrogates are being deployed across the country this week.
Kamala Harris to travel to North Carolina and Pennsylvania for post-debate campaign rallies as campaign enters ‘aggressive’ new phase
Harris’ campaign comes as Trump heads west to wrap up the week with stops in the swing states of Arizona and Nevada, as well as a news conference in Los Angeles.
Polls show the race is very close down the stretch, but most viewers who watched the debate Tuesday night believe Harris won.
The campaign calls this push ‘New Way Forward Tour’, which stands for push campaigns with stops and announcements.
Harris’ campaign spent Wednesday combing through campaign footage looking for key moments to use in new ads coming in the coming days that will target key voters in battleground states.
The first ad featuring images from the debate, titled “Leadership,” was released Wednesday night. The ad shows Harris touting a “new generation of leadership” and also features clips of Trump criticizing the United States, where he says the nation is “dying.”
It’s part of $370 million the campaign will spend between Labor Day and Election Day.
As for her increased media appearances, the vice president will focus especially on reaching out to voters in battleground states and key members of the Democratic coalition.
Kamala Harris campaign to use presidential debate clips in TV and digital ads ahead of election
Harris’ first campaign ad featuring footage from the presidential debate titled ‘Leadership’ was released on Wednesday
Harris will grant interviews to local state media outlets in the coming days. Next week she is also expected to participate in a conversation with journalists from the National Association of Black Journalists.
As Harris heads to North Carolina and Pennsylvania, key members of the campaign are traveling across the country.
His running mate, Tim Walz, will travel to Michigan on Thursday and Friday and to Wisconsin on Saturday. He is also stepping up his media appearances, which began with a series of solo interviews after Tuesday’s debate.
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff is touring Arizona and Nevada, while Gwen Walz will campaign in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Thursday and in Maine on Friday.
Kamala Harris was not on the campaign trail on Wednesday, but instead participated in commemorative events to mark 23 years since 9/11 alongside President Biden. She will return to the campaign trail on Thursday and Friday.
Several experts who weighed in on Tuesday night’s presidential debate in Philadelphia told DailyMail.com that the vice president gave it her best shot and won.
An exclusive poll for DailyMail.com showed more viewers agreed Harris won. 49 percent said Harris performed better, while 43 percent said Trump came out on top.
Voters supporting the vice president cheered her debate performance as they waited in line to attend her rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday.
Jourdan Gore, 34, of Winston Salem, said Harris swept the debate.
“What struck me most is how prepared and polished women have to be to be in the same spaces that men can be in without being prepared at all,” Gore said.
“This is how women are seen when they show up in these kinds of spaces, especially women of color. We have to be ten times better, smarter and faster to even have a seat at the table,” she said.
Supporters said standout moments for them in the debate included when Harris spoke about abortion rights.
“I applauded when she brought up the issue of abortion and told him there was a girl in the car bleeding to death. They are worried about not being able to exercise their rights over their body,” said Carol Injaychock.
Unaffiliated voter JG Riviere of Charlotte had voted for members of both parties in the past, but has leaned Democratic in the Trump era.
“For me, it’s all about the rule of law, and I think with Kamala Harris we’re going to have a president who will not only understand the Constitution, but will defend it,” he said.
“I thought Kamala Harris performed better than I thought she could do,” Riviere said of her debate performance. “I saw a commander in chief. I saw someone who is willing to work for the American people,
His bold prediction about his state: “this year it will turn blue.”
DailyMail.com’s model shows the state leaning slightly toward Trump. He won North Carolina in both 2016 and 2020, but Democrats believe they can flip the state.
The former president led Biden by less than 1.5 points. Several polls in recent weeks showed the vice president with a slight lead, but within the margin of error.
