Arizona's Kamala Harris and Tim Walls are battling for a spot in the Sun Belt
Glendale, Arizona: Vice President Kamala Harris and her new running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, drew thousands of supporters to a campaign rally as the new Democratic ticket continued to tour battleground states.
As Beyoncé's “Freedom” played throughout the arena, Harris took the stage to cheers and roars from the crowd of more than 15,000.
“As exciting as this is, we can't lose sight of one really important fact: We're definitely underperforming,” Harris said. “We're weak. We're outnumbered, but we've got a lot to do.”
The rally took place in a state with US Senate Democrat Mark Kelly, whom Harris passed as a running mate. The former astronaut and gun control advocate was one of the main contenders for the partnership. He has won two tough races in politically divided Arizona.
By passing on Kelly, Harris may have also lost the chance to land the likes of Gonzalo Leiva, a 49-year-old landscaper in Phoenix. Leyva plans to vote for former Republican President Donald Trump, but says he supported the Harris-Kelly ticket.
“I prefer Kelly 100 times,” said Leyva, a lifelong Democrat who became an independent at the start of Trump's presidency. “I don't think he's as extreme as other people.”
In Arizona, every vote will matter. The state is no stranger to close contests, including in 2020, when President Joe Biden defeated Trump by less than 11,000 votes. Both sides are gearing up for a similar final shot this year.
“These last few months have felt like years, and it's hard to see anyone winning by a wide margin,” said Constantin Coirard, a veteran Republican strategist in the state.
Harris acknowledged how tough the race will be as he and Walls visited a campaign office in north Phoenix Friday afternoon, thanking volunteers who waved signs with phrases such as “This Mamala is voting for Kamala” and “Kamala and Coach.” they did (Wallace coached high school football).
“It's going to be a lot of work,” Harris told the Volunteers about winning in November.
Democrats believe Harris is in good shape in the state, even without Kelly on the ticket. The senator is expected to remain a strong advocate for Harris and has already been named for possible cabinet posts or other high-profile roles if the vice president ascends to the Oval Office. Kelly is expected to participate in the Arizona rally.
“Not electing Kelly hasn't stopped support for Harris,” said Stacey Pearson, a Democratic strategist in Phoenix. He said he shares the same enthusiasm for the new ticket that has drawn Harris and Walls to huge crowds at previous stops on their tour, including the home of another colleague, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
Another Democratic strategist in Arizona, DJ Quinlan, agrees. “There is a lot of enthusiasm on the ground. This is the closest I've had since 2008.
Arizona is something of a magnet for Midwesterners looking to escape the cold. So, several observers say, Walls may still play well there. Scott Snyder, who moved to Phoenix from Detroit three years ago, wasn't too familiar with her overall background or politics, but said Harris made the right choice with Walls.
“He reminds me a lot of my dad,” said Snyder, an electrician. “You see pictures of him coaching high school football. That's what resonates with me. You see him duck hunting. That's pretty common in Michigan, where I'm from.
Arizona was solidly Republican until Trump's hawkish approach to politics went national.
In 2016, Trump won Arizona, then quickly fell out with the late Republican Sen. John McCain, a political icon in the state. This sparked a steady exodus of educated and moderate Republicans from the GOP to the Democrats in top races.
In 2018, Democrats won the state's Senate race, signaling a 2020 overall victory for Biden there as well. In 2022, Kelly won again, with Democrats sweeping the state's top three races for governor, attorney general and secretary of state, defeating Republican candidates who, in the style of Trump and his lies about fraud, cost the presidency. Republic 2020 is over, they defeated.
Chuck Coughlin, a Republican strategist and former McCain staffer, said the same voters who tipped the administration to Democrats in the past few terms are, at best, confused about Trump.
He said: “Trump is not doing anything to accept this segment of voters.
The campaign is currently being fought on familiar turf in Arizona – its border with Mexico. Trump and his allies have been hammering Biden over the influx of immigrants during his presidency, and are turning their attacks on Harris.
“It's very easy for us to shift our focus and focus on him,” said Dave Smith, chairman of the Pima County Republican Party.
Kerry Lake, who is running against Democratic Rep. Reuben Gallego for an open Senate seat in Arizona, unveiled an ad late last week targeting Gallego for supporting what the ad called “Biden's Radical Border Agenda” and Harris. May Khan, criticized the deputy with repeated clips. President napping
On Thursday, Leake told reporters that Harris is less popular than Biden in Arizona. “They like Kamala Harris less,” Lake said. “They know he didn't do anything at the border.”
Meanwhile, Harris is targeting the state's fast-growing Latino population with her ad, which shows how Harris, the daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica, rose to the highest echelons of American politics.
Harris' background and relative youth have brought back Arizona and other Sun Belt states in a presidential race that was limited to the three swing “Blue Wall” states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Although Arizona has a younger population, Arizona is also known for its large swaths of retirement communities. Pearson claimed Sen. Biden, 81, has put him at a disadvantage in the state.
“Retired colleagues were the first to say it was okay,” Pearson said of Sen. Biden. “I'm more optimistic with Harris and Walls at the top of the ticket.”
