Kamala Harris, hoping to build momentum, plans battleground state tour next week
CHICAGO — Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign for president is entering a new phase, shifting from a 33-day sprint to the convention to something more familiar: Preparing for a debate and pivoting to getting out the vote.
On Friday afternoon, Harris plans to fly back from Chicago to Washington, where she will spend the weekend decompressing from the mind-spinning turn of events that led to her accepting the Democratic nomination for president Thursday night.
She will begin preparing for what will be her first national interview — which she has said will take place by the end of August — and for the Sept. 10 debate with Donald Trump, according to campaign officials briefed on her plans who were not authorized to reveal them before they are formally announced.
The officials said Harris will return to the campaign trail next week with events in multiple battleground states, where she will aim to extend the enthusiasm generated at this week’s convention in Chicago.
Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, her running mate who was plucked from relative political obscurity 17 days ago, will return to his state before heading back on the campaign trail next week.
Presidential candidates typically come out of their conventions trying to build momentum with bus tours or rallies. Harris’ choice to delay the traditional barnstorming reflects the supercharged pace of the last few weeks and the changed nature of modern campaigns, where social media posts can be as important as speeches. It also is evidence of a shift from a sprint to more of a middle-distance effort that requires endurance and speed in equal measures.
“Campaigns often do barnstorm, but this has been such a compressed schedule for her, and she has a debate in 17 days,” said David Axelrod, a veteran Democratic strategist who worked on Barack Obama’s campaigns. “A little downtime and maybe even prep would make sense. As we just saw they have a plethora of first-rate surrogates who can and should be deployed when she is not.”
While Obama in 2012 left his reelection convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, for a swing through battleground states including Iowa and Florida — where he was memorably lifted into the air by a pizza proprietor — campaigns today rely less on the local media coverage generated by stumping across the country.
Campaigns now seek to reach voters as much on social media apps as in person, a reality that was evident in how the Democratic National Convention gave status to influencers willing to cheer for Harris and spread the campaign’s message that was equal to or better than what it gave the traditional press corps at the United Center.
Harris’ self-imposed deadline for a national interview, next Saturday, presents the next hurdle for Harris. It will be a break from the rhythm of stadium rallies she has hosted since she named Walz her running mate.
Trump does not have a robust campaign schedule in the coming days either.
The Republican nominee sought to divert attention to himself during the Democratic convention, holding an event each day in a different battleground state. Trump was planning Friday to cap the week’s events in Las Vegas and in Arizona, where his campaign has teased a special guest that many expect to be Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who suspended his independent campaign for president Friday and endorsed Trump.
Trump was then expected to spend the weekend at his golf club in Sterling, Virginia, according to two people familiar with his plans. But he does not have any public events scheduled until Monday, when he will address the National Guard Association of the United States in Detroit.
“President Trump will be working nonstop like he always does and doing an interview this weekend, which is one more interview than Kamala has done in 33 days,” said Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign.
Trump did not remain quiet after his convention. Two days after it ended in Milwaukee, he traveled to Michigan for his first joint rally with his newly crowned running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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