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'All about chemistry': How Walz is boosting Harris in key swing states

By Chris Williams
Updated  August 12, 2024 2:56pm MST
2024 Election
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Ep. 10: Midwest showdown: VPs battle for heartland

Governor Tim Walz's influence on key battlegrounds Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania - will they decide 2024? Kamala Harris and Walz secure coveted Culinary Union endorsement in Vegas. Plus, analyzing the electoral weight of the VP pick.

New polling suggests that the enthusiasm for Vice President Kamala Harris is going beyond its "honeymoon phase" as she vies to win the White House against former president Donald Trump. 

Political insiders believe Harris' running mate, Tim Walz, is helping her with the momentum. 

According to polls by the New York Times and Siena College, Harris leads Trump by four percentage points in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, 50% to 46% among likely voters in each state. However, the results were within the margin of error. 

The surveys were conducted from Aug. 5-9.

Wisconsin

  • Harris has poured effort into Wisconsin, avoiding the mistake then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton made in 2016 when she didn't campaign in the state. That move cost her when Trump won the state.
  • Harris hopes Walz will win over voters because he's from neighboring Minnesota.
  • "But it's really back to that hope that he can appeal to that kind of white working class voter that is going to be critical in the Midwest and critical of those Rust Belt states," Politico reporter Myah Ward told S.E. Cupp, host of "Battleground."

Michigan

  • Harris continues to make her case for the presidency with a pro-union message to labor leaders, hoping Walz will help with those efforts.
  • "He [Walz] was kind of the labor union darling of sorts that emerged in the veepstakes," Ward continued. "He was the one of the favorites of UAW President Sean Fein. He signed these worker-friendly policies in the state, increasing protections for workers to unionize, so he can definitely help Harris in Michigan."

Kamala Harris speaks at campaign rally in Arizona

Vice President, along with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, delivered speeches at a packed Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale as part of their campaign stop in the Phoenix area.

Pennsylvania 

  • Political insiders say Harris took a risk by not choosing Pennsylvania's Governor Josh Shapiro as her running mate, but it may not hurt her campaign.
  • "It was really about chemistry, who she wanted to govern with" Ward added. "It doesn't necessarily change the game in Pennsylvania."

RELATED: Trump campaign says it was hacked, blames 'foreign sources hostile to the United States'

Trump responds to Harris' momentum 

  • President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race after a poor debate performance, which raised concerns about his fitness for another term.
  • Following Biden's exit, former President Donald Trump saw his polling lead over Biden expand.
  • Trump's campaign pollster, Tony Fabrizio, believes that the surge in support for Kamala Harris, Biden's potential replacement, will be temporary.

Full press conference: Trump calls out Kamala Harris and agrees to debate

Former President Donald Trump held a news conference Thursday at Mar-a-Lago, making his first public appearance since Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee.

Americans believe democracy is at stake

  • Approximately 75% of American adults believe the upcoming presidential election is crucial to the future of U.S. democracy, with opinions on the greater threat varying by political affiliation.
  • A recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that most Democrats, Republicans, and independents view the election as "very important" or "extremely important" to democracy.
  • Democrats show a higher level of concern, with over half saying the election is "extremely important" to U.S. democracy's future, compared to about 40% of independents and Republicans.