MILWAUKEE: Vice President Kamala Harris criticized Donald Trump on Tuesday at her first campaign rally since replacing President Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee, even as a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll showed her with a slight lead over Trump, the Republican nominee.
“In this campaign, I promise you that I will proudly put my record against him any day of the week,” she told a cheering crowd of thousands at West Allis Central High School in suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin, an important battleground state. November 5 election.
“Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion and the rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hatred?” she asked.
A national Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Monday and Tuesday showed Harris leading Trump 44 percent to 42 percent among registered voters, with Biden dropping out of the race on Sunday and endorsing Harris as his successor.
Previous polls conducted before Biden's exit had Harris and Trump tied at 44 percent a week ago, and Trump ahead of him by one percentage point earlier in the month.
In all three cases, the difference was within the poll's 3-point margin of error, but the results may signal some limited movement in the Democrats' direction — and suggest that Harris' elevation to the top of the ticket will undermine any momentum Trump has. Got it from last week's Republican National Convention, also in Milwaukee.
Harris quickly consolidated his party's support after Biden, 81, abandoned his re-election campaign under pressure from members of his own party worried about his ability to defeat Trump or serve another four-year term.
She finalized the nomination on Monday night after securing a pledge from a majority of delegates to decide the candidate at next month's party convention, the campaign said.
Most Democratic lawmakers have lined up behind her candidacy, including party leaders in the Senate and House, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, who endorsed Harris at a joint press conference on Tuesday.
An unofficial poll of delegates by the Associated Press showed Harris with more than 2,500 delegates, more than the 1,976 needed for the nomination. Delegates could still change their minds, but no one else received any votes in the AP poll; 54 delegates said they were undecided.
Harris's emergence dramatically reshaped an election in which many voters were dissatisfied with their options.
Beset by concerns about his health and the persistently high cost of Americans' household finances, Biden has been losing ground against Trump in opinion polls, particularly in competitive states that could decide the election, including the Sun Belt states of Wisconsin and Arizona. and Nevada.
Campaign reset
The Wisconsin incident provided another opportunity for Harris, the first black woman and Asian American to serve as vice president, to reset the Democrat's campaign.
Harris has contributed to the campaign. Her campaign said Monday that she had raised $100 million since Sunday, on top of the $95 million the Biden campaign had in the bank at the end of June.
While a wave of senior Democrats has lined up behind Harris, the racial justice group Black Lives Matter on Tuesday challenged the party's swift move.
It called for a national virtual snap primary ahead of the Aug. 19-22 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where the party will formally nominate its candidate.
“We call on the Rules Committee to create a process that allows for public participation in the nomination process, not just nominations by party representatives,” Black Lives Matter said in a statement to Reuters.
Rust Belt Push
Biden said on X that he will give a speech Wednesday night from the Oval Office explaining his decision to end his campaign. He returned to Washington on Tuesday after spending several days in isolation at home due to the infection of Covid-19. The president has tested negative and no longer has symptoms, the White House doctor said in a letter Tuesday.
Biden's dramatic exit followed Trump's narrow survival in an assassination attempt on July 13 that raised questions about security failures in the US Secret Service. After the agency's director, Kimberly Chettle, resigned on Tuesday, several lawmakers called for her resignation.
Trump and his allies have tried to pin Harris on some of Biden's unpopular policies, including his administration's handling of a surge in immigration along the southern border with Mexico.
“Kamala Harris' dismal record is a total failure and total incompetence. Her policies are Biden's policies, and vice versa,” said Trump spokesman Steven Cheung.
Wisconsin is one of three Rust Belt states, along with Michigan and Pennsylvania, that are critical to Democrats' chances of defeating Trump.
“There are independents and young people who don't like their choices, and Harris has a chance to win them over,” said Paul Kendrick, executive director of the Democratic group Rust Belt Rising.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, a Democrat, said Harris could also help bring back important black voters.
“A lot of them didn't come because they were put off by his (Biden's) age, put off by his appearance,” he said.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jim Harrison said in an interview on NBC's “Today” show that the party must move quickly to get tickets on the ballot in all 50 states and select a vice president by Aug. 7.
“This process will be fair, transparent, open but it will be fast,” Harrison said.
Possible running mates include Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Michigan Governor, according to internal policy discussions with the Gretchen family. .
