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What’s happening on the campaign trail today
- Vice President Kamala Harris held a rally this evening in Atlanta that included a performance by rapper Megan Thee Stallion. In her remarks, Harris jabbed former President Donald Trump for not committing to debate her and called the Trump-Vance policies "weird."
- The conservative initiative known as Project 2025 is winding down its policy work and the Heritage Foundation official leading the group's efforts is stepping down following persistent criticism from Trump and his campaign.
- Arizona voters went to the polls today for primary elections in some closely watched races. Trump-backed candidate Kari Lake is the front-runner for the GOP Senate nomination; Rep. Ruben Gallego is running unopposed in the Democratic primary for the seat. Results are not expected to be released until after 11 p.m. ET.
- Harris' pool of potential VP picks is narrowing as she nears a final decision. She and her eventual running mate will be together in Philadelphia next Tuesday, her campaign said tonight.
Tim Walz has friends in Congress. They say his political chops could help Harris as VP.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is on a group text called “sports buddies” with dozens of current and former members of Congress, men and women. They mostly trash-talk one another’s favorite teams.
But when Walz gave an interview on MSNBC after Biden withdrew from the election, that chat became a venue to discuss a different competition: who will be named Harris’ running mate.
“Walz blew it up on MS this morning. He now has to be on the list,” former Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., texted the group.
Black journalist group sparks backlash for inviting Trump to its convention
The National Association of Black Journalists is facing backlash after it announced that Trump would take part in a Q&A at the organization’s annual convention.
The group announced the session late yesterday, with the convention set to kick off tomorrow in Chicago. Trump will discuss issues facing the Black community through questions from ABC News, Fox News and Semafor journalists.
The announcement quickly prompted backlash from some Black journalists who said they were “disgusted” and expressed concerns over Trump’s rhetoric about Black people.
Harris and future running mate will be in Philadelphia next Tuesday
Harris and her future running mate are expected to make a stop next Tuesday in Philadelphia, her campaign said in a news release.
A source familiar with the matter confirmed tonight that the soon-to-be vice presidential candidate would be included in Tuesday's event while cautioning that the event location was not an indication that Harris has already selected Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is considered to be among her vice presidential contenders.
“Philly was chosen in a vacuum, though; don’t interpret as a sign it’s Shapiro,” the source said.
Harris’ campaign has said she has not yet selected a running mate.
Border state hawk Mark Kelly as VP pick could help shield Harris on a major liability
Three months after becoming a senator in 2021, Mark Kelly had a bone to pick with the Biden-Harris administration.
President Joe Biden had just given his first address to Congress, and Kelly, D-Ariz., accused him of failing to address “the immediate crisis at the border” and vowed to “continue holding this administration accountable” on the issue. At the time, the White House was reluctant to call it a crisis, siding with activists on the left who believed that word played into anti-immigration GOP rhetoric.
While he has been a Biden ally on most issues, Kelly remained a vocal critic on border security. He went after the White House for inadequately funding Arizona’s migrant programs and urged the administration not to reverse a Trump-era policy known as Title 42, which made it easier to turn away migrants at the U.S. border. When the White House revoked the policy anyway in 2022, Kelly called the decision “wrong” and “unacceptable” in a statement.
Exclusive: Vance discusses his rocky debut and what role he wants to play as Trump’s VP
Vance knows he has had a rocky rollout as Trump’s running mate, but he doesn’t believe he has disappointed the former president.
“No,” Vance said in an interview aboard his campaign plane en route to a rally here today. “I mean, I knew that when I came out of the gate there was going to be a couple of days of positive media coverage and then immediately they would go and attack me over everything that I had ever said in my life.”
Vance has faced relentless criticism from allies of Harris, the de facto Democratic presidential nominee, for his 2021 comments questioning the societal value of women who don’t have children and referring to them as “childless cat ladies.” Harris’ campaign over the last week has tried to brand Vance and his political point of view as “weird.” Trump has stood by Vance.
Vance tells rallygoers in Nevada that 'strong women' made him who he is
Vance said tonight that he was raised by "strong women," a line that has taken on more meaning as he faces criticism over comments about "childless" women.
"I have been the beneficiary, I have to say, of a number of strong women in my life," Vance said at a rally in Reno, Nevada. "I've lived the American dream because of those strong women."
Vance recounted a story about his grandmother, who he said tried to dissuade him from enlisting in the Marine Corps in 2003 and confronted a recruiter who set foot on her porch. Vance recalled her saying, "If you take another step, I'll blow that foot off."
"That's the kind of strong woman that made me who I am," he said.
Vance has faced criticism over a remark he made in 2021 that resurfaced last week in which he said that the U.S. was being led by “childless cat ladies.”
Harris officially has no opponents for the Democratic nomination after key deadline passes
Harris is officially the only candidate seeking the Democratic presidential nomination after a key deadline passed tonight with no one else qualifying.
According to the Democratic National Committee, 99% of delegates signed Harris’ nominating petition.
With no internal competition, Democrats will avoid the messy fight that some party officials feared when Biden stepped aside in the race less than two weeks ago.
Harris derides Trump on border security at Georgia rally as GOP presses the issue
Harris, facing a new barrage of GOP attack ads seeking to define her early in her campaign, attacked back on immigration and border security before a fired-up crowd of thousands in an over-capacity arena tonight.
Through chants of “Kamala” aimed at her and “lock him up” aimed at Trump, Harris began her line of attack by citing her experience as attorney general of America’s largest border state, California.
“In that job, I walked underground tunnels between the United States and Mexico on that border with law enforcement officers,” Harris said. “I went after transnational gangs, drug cartels and human traffickers that came into our country illegally. I prosecuted them in case after case, and I won.”
How the nation’s biggest battleground county is trying to quash election conspiracy theories
Maricopa County, Arizona, has been at the center of election conspiracy theories and denial of results in each of the last two elections. Now, the team running the vote is seeing how much a big effort to increase transparency and explanation around its procedures can help.
In 2020, the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center saw hundreds of pro-Trump protesters, some armed, gather outside the facility in the days after the election, arguing without evidence that the election was being stolen from Trump.
In 2022, Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake fueled another round of election conspiracy theory claims after dozens of vote tabulation machines malfunctioned, causing delays.
Harris calls Trump and Vance's positions 'weird'
Harris painted the top of the Republican ticket as "weird" during her campaign rally in Atlanta tonight, hammering home what's become a theme among Democrats criticizing Trump and Vance.
"And by the way, don't you find some of their stuff to just be plain weird?" Harris asked the crowd.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who is considered a potential Harris running mate, helped popularize what appears to have been adopted as a key campaign message dubbing Republicans as “weird."
In a Fox News interview that aired this week, Trump said: "You know who’s plain weird? She’s plain weird. She’s a weird person."