Kamala Harris campaign garners support; hosts thousands of events over weekend

Washington: The Kamala Harris campaign held thousands of events across the country over the weekend, focusing on battleground states, making a case for the vice president’s vision of the US driven by people’s power.

Vice President Harris, 59, is the presumptive presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. She officially declared her candidacy for president last week after incumbent President Joe Biden withdrew from the race for a second term on July 20. She is, however, yet to be officially declared as the presidential candidate by the Democrats.

The Harris campaign said on Sunday it has intensified its effort after raising a whopping USD 200 million in a week and with 17,000 volunteers having signed up.

Over the weekend, the campaign mobilised thousands of grassroots supporters who have signed up to volunteer since the campaign launch — through thousands of events, phone banks, and canvass launches across the battleground states.

Harris will be up against former president Donald Trump, the Republican Party's presidential candidate for the high-stakes November 5 general elections.

Taking to X, 'Harris for President' Battleground States Director Dan Kanninen said, "100 days out! Our teams in battleground states have been building and were ready for it. 1,300+ staff (and growing), 250+ offices, (and) tens of thousands of volunteers. Talking to millions of voters. 2,300 events in battlegrounds. Just this weekend."

“One hundred days before Election Day, Team Harris is leveraging the historic grassroots enthusiasm we’ve seen for our campaign and putting it to work. For over a year, our team has been building the battleground infrastructure needed to reach and persuade the voters who will decide this election — and now, we’re kicking it into overdrive,” Kanninen said.

“We have an enormous battleground advantage over Donald Trump, and this weekend, that is going to be painfully clear to the Trump-Vance campaign. Our campaign is off to a running start and doing the work to defeat Donald Trump and send Vice President Harris to the Oval Office,” he said.

The battleground States are Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina.

According to the campaign, this weekend, Team Harris held Kamala coffee hours, soul food potlucks, Pride trivia nights, office openings and other events to reach voters wherever they are and talk to them about all that’s at stake in the November 5 election.

Leaders like Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff and many volunteers hit the doors to talk directly to voters.

In addition, 'Harris for President' organised phone banks for bilingual Spanish speakers, labour organisers, and senior citizens.

The campaign also held youth, women, labour, and LGBTQ+ national organising calls with thousands of supporters.

It also hosted watch parties so volunteers and supporters could watch Harris on RuPaul’s Drag Race and learn more about how they can volunteer with and support her White House bid.

“In a close election and a fragmented media environment, our campaign is leveraging trusted messengers and preexisting community ties to break through to voters and drive home the stakes of this election,” a statement by the campaign said.

In addition, dozens of high-profile surrogates representing the broad, diverse coalition the campaign represents were on the road and in their home states campaigning for Harris this weekend.

“While Donald Trump still has little to no infrastructure in the battlegrounds, the Vice President inherits more than 250 coordinated battleground offices and 1,300 staff who have been building strong relationships and volunteer bases on the ground for months,” the Harris Campaign said.

“This week, the Vice President also raised more money in 48 hours than Donald Trump did in all of June — on top of the quarter billion war chest she inherited from the Biden-Harris campaign," it said.

"With a popular message, a strong record, multiple pathways to 270 electoral voters, and unprecedented funding and enthusiasm on her side, the Vice President is in a strong position to take on Donald Trump and win in 100 days,” the campaign said.