GREENSBORO, N.C. — Vice President Kamala Harris is trying out a new strategy that includes more media and a rigorous travel schedule to battleground states this week as the campaign signals that it’s entering a more intense phase of the election.
It’s an implicit recognition that more is required to get them through the last 50 days of an already truncated campaign season successfully, given that the election is expected to be decided on razor-thin margins.
While Democrats eagerly await high-quality data to see if Harris’ widely praised debate performance translates to a shake-up in the somewhat stalled polls, the vice president hit the trail, trying to turn the debate into momentum on the ground.
“This election, what’s at stake could not be more important,” Harris said to applause in North Carolina on Thursday. “On Tuesday, I talked about issues that I know matter to the families across America, like bringing down the cost of living, investing in America’s small businesses, protecting reproductive freedoms and keeping our nation safe and secure.”
Harris held rallies in Charlotte and Greensboro, North Carolina, as part of a “New Way Forward” battleground tour that will feature Harris, her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, and other top surrogates. The expanded appearances from the vice president will range from events in battleground states, including here and Pennsylvania, to more media interviews, in response to criticism that Harris isn’t talking to the press enough.
No Democrat has won the state in a presidential race since former President Barack Obama in 2008. But now, Democrats have renewed their focus on North Carolina since Harris replaced Joe Biden at the top of the ticket and put it back in play.
The Harris campaign invested early in trying to flip North Carolina. By August, Democrats had established more than 20 field offices and had more than 150 people on the ground with plans to grow the staff. Democrats have vastly outspent Republicans in the presidential and gubernatorial races in ads — AdImpact reported that Democrats have reserved $30.5 million in ads until Election Day compared to $1.1 million in reservations by Republicans. Thursday’s trip to North Carolina was Harris’ ninth this year, according to the campaign.
“The campaign is showing their investment to the state which others haven’t done because they’ve had their focus elsewhere,” Rep. Wiley Nickel told NOTUS. “The White House runs through North Carolina.”
Sources on the campaign agreed the state was crucial.
“The blue wall plus Omaha is the most straightforward,” said a Harris aide about the campaign’s path to 270 electoral votes. “But [North Carolina is] definitely in play.”
National polling shows that voters’ familiarity with Harris remains low — so Democrats are focused on tying Harris to the popular Democratic contender for governor, Josh Stein. North Carolina has one of the most competitive gubernatorial races in the country.
“Instead of down-ballot, it’s ballot-up here,” a North Carolina-based source close to the campaign said.
And while polling in the state suggests that Harris has largely closed the gap Biden faced with Donald Trump before exiting the race, Harris remains neck and neck with Trump.
Harris emerged from her first sit-down interview on national TV and first presidential debate unscathed. The campaign said she raised $47 million in the first 24 hours after the debate, likely widening the money gap between Harris and the Trump campaign.
Whether the newly invigorated campaign was obvious on the ground wasn’t clear yet. Asked if Thursday’s events felt like a new chapter, Jennifer Marshall, a DNC member from North Carolina, couldn’t say.
“More aggressive? I don’t know,” Marshall said. “People are cheering at her policy points in her speech though.”
The campaign said there were more than 7,000 rally attendees in Charlotte and more than 25,000 people in Greensboro.
“Incredible energy,” Morgan Jackson, who consults on Stein’s campaign, said about the Greensboro rally. “She went at Trump very aggressively. Last time I was in this arena was for Springsteen. Just as loud as then.”
New TV and digital ads that include highlights from Harris’ debate performance will be released in the coming days. To reach more battleground state voters, Harris plans to engage in more interviews with local media outlets and participate in a discussion with journalists at the National Association of Black Journalists next week.
Harris did not do any media interviews in North Carolina, despite signaling that she would.
The debate was also heavily featured in Harris’ remarks.
“I believe we owe it to the voters to have another debate,” she said to loud applause, responding quickly to Trump who made clear he would not attend another debate while Harris traveled. “THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!” Trump posted on social media.
Harris didn’t focus solely on Trump. She wrapped up her speech in Charlotte by reminding North Carolinians about the slate of Republican candidates, including Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, on the ballot this year.
“It’s not just the presidency that’s on the ballot,” Harris said. “There are many important races, including Josh Stein running for governor whose opponent was handpicked by Donald Trump and wants a total ban on abortion in this state.”
While Democrats believe that Harris has momentum, they see a danger in complacency and think Harris still has work to do to ensure voters turn out to the polls in November.
“I think she wins North Carolina not by beating Donald Trump, but by beating the couch,” Nickel said. “People getting off the couch and voting is going to be what puts us over the top in a close race.”
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Calen Razor is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow. Jasmine Wright is a reporter at NOTUS.