MILWAUKEE: Vice President Kamala Harris denounced Donald Trump in her first campaign speech since becoming the Democratic nominee to replace President Joe Biden, while a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed her with a narrow lead over the Republican nominee.
“I promise you that in this election, any day of the week, I will proudly compare my record to his,” she told a cheering crowd of thousands at West Allis Central High School in suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a key battleground in the Nov. 5 election.
“Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion and the rule of law, or do we want to live in a country of chaos, fear and hatred?” she asked.
A Reuters/Ipsos national poll conducted Monday and Tuesday after Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday and endorsed Harris as his successor showed Harris leading among registered voters, 44% to Trump's 42%.
Previous polls conducted before Biden's departure had Harris and Trump tied at 44% a week ago, and earlier this month had Trump ahead of Harris by 1 percentage point.
In all three cases, the margins were within the polls' 3 percentage point margin of error, but the results could represent a limited move toward the Democratic Party, and Harris's rise to the lead may have undermined the momentum Trump gained at last week's Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Harris quickly consolidated support within the party after Biden, 81, abandoned his reelection campaign under pressure from party members worried about whether he could beat Trump or serve another four-year term.
She finalized her nomination Monday night with the support of a majority of delegates who will decide on the nominee at the party convention next month, her campaign said.
Most Democrats supported her nomination, with Senate and House leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries endorsing Harris in a joint news conference Tuesday.
An unofficial Associated Press delegate survey showed Harris had more than 2,500 delegates, well over the 1,976 needed to win the nomination. Delegates could still change their minds, but no one in the AP survey received a vote. Fifty-four delegates said they were undecided.
Harris's rise dramatically changed an election situation in which many voters were dissatisfied with their chosen candidate.
Biden, who has been weighed down by health concerns and concerns about the continued high cost of living that could weigh on American household finances, has been lagging behind Trump in polls, particularly in key battleground states that could determine the outcome, such as Wisconsin, Arizona and Nevada.
Reset campaign
The Wisconsin event offered Harris, the first Black woman and Asian American to serve as vice president, another opportunity to reignite the Democratic campaign.
Harris has been raking in money for her campaign. Her campaign said Monday it had raised $100 million since Sunday, surpassing the $95 million the Biden campaign had in the bank in late June.
While senior Democrats have backed Harris, the racial justice group Black Lives Matter on Tuesday questioned the party's swift move.
Democrats have called for a nationwide virtual primary ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Aug. 19-22, where the party will formally nominate its candidate.
“We urge the Rules Committee to create a process that allows for public participation in the nomination process, rather than just nominations by party representatives,” Black Lives Matter said in a statement to Reuters.
Green Belt Push
Biden said he would explain his decision to end his campaign in a speech from the Oval Office Wednesday night at X. He returned to Washington on Tuesday after spending several days quarantining at home with COVID-19. The president tested negative and no longer has symptoms, the White House physician said in a letter Tuesday.
Biden’s dramatic resignation comes after Trump narrowly survived an assassination attempt on July 13, which raised questions about security failures at the U.S. Secret Service. The agency’s head, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned on Tuesday after several lawmakers called for her resignation.
Trump and his allies have tried to tie Harris to some of Biden's unpopular policies, including his administration's handling of the surge of migrants at the southern border with Mexico.
Trump spokesman Stephen Cheng said, “Kamala Harris's record is one of utter failure and utter incompetence. Her policies are Biden's policies and vice versa.”
Wisconsin is one of three Rust Belt states, along with Michigan and Pennsylvania, that are key to Democrats' chances of beating Trump.
“There are independents and younger voters who don’t like their picks, and Harris has a chance of winning them over,” said Paul Kendrick, executive director of the Democratic group Rust Belt Rising.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, a Democrat, said Harris could help bring back key black voters.
“Many of them were distracted by Biden's age and appearance and didn't attend,” he said.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said in an interview on NBC's “Today” program that the party must move quickly to get candidates on the ballot in all 50 states and that the vice presidential nominee should be decided by Aug. 7.
“This process will be fair, transparent and open, but it will be fast-paced,” Harrison said.
Potential running mates include Kentucky Gov. Andy Besha, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, according to people familiar with internal policy discussions.
