Kamala Harris Targets 3 States in Swing State Blitz With Liz Cheney

Rachel Acenas
By Rachel Acenas
October 21, 2024Kamala Harris
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Kamala Harris Targets 3 States in Swing State Blitz With Liz Cheney
Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (L) speaks during a moderated conversation with former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney at the Royal Oak Music Theatre in Royal Oak, Mich., on Oct. 21, 2024. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Vice President Kamala Harris is hitting the Midwestern battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin in a final pitch to undecided voters.

This comes as the race remains razor-thin in the three “blue wall” states that could solidify a win for either Harris or former President Donald Trump. Combined, all three states account for 44 electoral votes.

Harris teamed up with former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney for her swing state blitz in a series of moderated conversations. Her campaign has often used Cheney in campaign events in an attempt to court Republican voters.

Monday’s battleground blitz marked an effort to appeal to both moderate Republicans and independent voters who may be hesitant about supporting Trump.

Cheney lost her seat in the United States House of Representatives in 2022 to Trump-backed challenger Harriet Hageman. The former congresswoman co-chaired a congressional committee that investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol breach. Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, has been an outspoken critic of Trump and supported his second impeachment.

Harris and Cheney began in Pennsylvania, which holds 19 electoral votes and plays a major role in which presidential nominee will secure victory in November.

According to FiveThirtyEight’s poll tracker, Harris and Trump are neck and neck in the Keystone State. Trump narrowly leads Harris 47.9 to 47.6 percent, the latest data shows.

“[Republicans] are going to vote the right way on November 5,” Cheney told voters in Pennsylvania on Monday. “They might not be public about it, but they’ll do what they know is right.”

Cheney, who previously praised the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, admitted that she isn’t always going to agree with Harris, but said she’s confident Harris will always do “what she believes is right for this country.”

Wisconsin and Michigan are also crucial battleground states.

Wisconsin was decided for President Joe Biden in 2020 by just 20,000 votes.

According to FiveThirtyEight’s poll tracker, Harris and Trump are in a dead heat in the Badger State. The latest data shows that Harris has 47.9 percent in the state while Trump has 47.6 percent.

Republicans held their national convention in Milwaukee, after Trump was shot and survived an assassination attempt. When Harris replaced Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket in July, she held her first campaign rally in a Wisconsin suburb. Monday’s trip marks Harris’s seventh visit to the state as a presidential candidate.

Wisconsin holds 10 electoral college votes.

According to the latest FiveThirtyEight data, Harris holds a razor-thin lead in the state, 47.5 percent to 47.3 percent.

As for Michigan, Biden won the state by three points in 2020, but Hillary Clinton lost the state to Trump in 2016 by less than a point.

The Great Lakes State holds 15 electoral college votes.

Notably, Susan Ford Bales, the daughter of late Republican president Gerald R. Ford and a Michigan native, endorsed Harris on Monday.

“She recognizes the goodness and the greatness in our country,” Ford Bales said in her endorsement. “I know she will defend the rule of law and our Constitution. And I know she will work to bring all Americans together to move us beyond partisanship.”