Harris has already embarked on a frenetic campaign schedule that will likely only accelerate in coming weeks, and Trump, too, has stepped up his pace. Both sides are bombarding battleground states with TV ads. Woe to you if you live in Georgia or Pennsylvania.
As one Republican county chair in Georgia told me recently, "There's a lot to run against her and a short time to get it all out."
Polls show the race to be exceptionally tight. Harris has helped her cause by proving to be a fundraising powerhouse, with her campaign saying it has raked in a stunning $540 million in just over a month after she replaced President Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket on July 21.
A new national Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Harris leading Trump 45% to 41% and picking up support among women and Hispanics. Trump led among white voters and men, while also leading Harris 45% to 43% in the seven swing states where the 2020 election was closest.
The former president seems to be fumbling to find a clear line of attack against Harris, frequently lamenting that he isn't facing the more vulnerable Biden. He has tried to paint her both as an unrepentant liberal and as the inheritor of Biden's more centrist policies, while also repeatedly bashing her intelligence.
This week, Trump attempted to tie Harris to the nation's chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 that left 13 soldiers dead, but he had difficulty landing his punches in a wide-ranging speech in Michigan.
Harris, in turn, has contended that Trump is an authoritarian candidate who would restrict personal freedoms and drag the country backward.
Harris and her vice presidential pick, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, will sit on Thursday for their first joint televised interview, on CNN. Harris has yet to do a one-on-one interview with a major network or print journalist or hold a formal press conference since becoming the Democratic candidate.
Harris and Trump are scheduled to debate on Sept. 10 but are still squabbling over details. The debate may provide Trump with a forum to try to blunt Harris' growing momentum, but also could find him more on the defensive as he faces a tougher opponent. Harris, meanwhile, will have to navigate thorny issues that helped sink Biden's popularity with voters while also facing pressure to provide more detail on her own policy plans.
The election still is expected to come down to a handful of states that include Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina and Wisconsin, along with Georgia and Pennsylvania – all in a bid to come up with the magic number of 270 electoral votes. Expect Harris and Trump, along with their respective running mates, Walz and U.S. Senator JD Vance of Ohio, to campaign in the seven battleground states almost exclusively in the next two months.
The clock is already running: Early voting will begin in some parts of states such as Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Virginia next month.
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