Washington — WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris will make her first visit to a key battleground state on Tuesday after securing the Democratic delegates’ support and winning the party’s nomination two days after President Joe Biden dropped out of his reelection bid.
As Democrats continue to coalesce around her, Harris is headed to Milwaukee, where she will hold her first campaign rally since launching her campaign with Biden’s endorsement on Sunday. Harris has raised more than $100 million since Sunday afternoon, and has garnered support from Democratic officials and political groups.
Tuesday’s visit was scheduled before Biden wrapped up his campaign, but it took on new resonance as Harris prepared to take on Trump as the Democratic frontrunner and appeared to project calm and confidence amid weeks of turmoil in the Democratic Party over Biden’s political future.
The visit comes a week after the Republican National Convention wrapped up in the city, and Harris is trying to sharpen her message for the GOP nominee with less than 100 days until Election Day. Wisconsin is part of the “Blue Wall” of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania that is critical to the Democrats’ 2024 plans.
The vice president previewed themes that will be prominent in the campaign against Trump during a visit to his Wilmington, Delaware, office on Monday, drawing comparisons between her time as a prosecutor and Trump’s felony convictions. “I know the type of person Donald Trump is,” she said, and portrayed herself as a champion of economic opportunity and abortion access.
“This election will present a clear choice between two visions. Donald Trump wants to take our country back to a time before many of us had full freedom and equal rights,” she said in a statement to the AP delegate count. “I believe in a future that strengthens democracy, protects reproductive freedom, and ensures that everyone has the opportunity not just to survive, but to thrive.”
She added, “I thank President Biden and all of the Democrats who have already placed their faith in me, and I look forward to taking our case directly to the American people.”
As of Monday night, Harris had garnered far more than the 1,976 delegates needed to win on the first ballot, according to an AP delegate tally. No delegate contacted by the AP had nominated another candidate.
Still, the AP is not calling Harris the new presumptive nominee, because convention delegates are free to vote for their preferred candidate at the August convention, or if Democrats hold a virtual roll call ahead of their convention in Chicago.
The AP tally is based on interviews with individual delegates, official statements from state parties (most of which say their delegates are overwhelmingly supporting Harris), and official statements and endorsements from individual delegates.
Harris will be joined by Wisconsin’s key elected officials, including Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Lieutenant Governor Sarah Rodriguez, Attorney General Josh Kaul, Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski, Wisconsin Democratic Chairman Ben Wickler and state labor leaders.
