Hound Lovers and Other Groups Unite for Harris Campaign Organizing Blitz

Across key battleground states, over 2,800 organizing events for Kamala Harris are being planned. These include a “Hound Lovers for Harris” gathering in a dog park in Van Buren Charter Township, Michigan, an organizing booth at the Africa Fest in Madison, Wisconsin, and “Kallin’ for Kamala” phone banking sessions in Fulton County, Georgia.

These activities are scheduled for the weekend leading up to the Democratic convention in Chicago, as the campaign is relying on its “relational organizing model” to sustain the enthusiasm that surged with her entry into the race about a month ago.

The weekend’s agenda will also feature a bus tour involving Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, across Western Pennsylvania. The events will range from traditional canvassing efforts to specialized gatherings of Harris enthusiasts, such as dog owners in the Detroit area, as well as surrogate events featuring personalities like Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, musician Ben Folds, and actor Emmy Rossum.

All these activities are gearing up for the gathering of thousands of Democratic delegates, activists, and operatives headed to Chicago for a four-day convention next week. Harris is set to conclude the convention on Thursday night, while Walz will address attendees on Wednesday. Notable speakers will include former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, along with 2016 Democratic nominee and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

On Tuesday, which marks the second day of the convention, Harris will also conduct a campaign rally in nearby Milwaukee. Typically, major party candidates experience a surge in energy, fundraising, and polling post-convention. However, Harris has already experienced significant boost prior to the convention, largely due to her timely entry into the race.

A CBS News poll from early August indicated that Harris performed six points better against former President Donald Trump compared to President Biden. Furthermore, during last week’s tour through battleground states, her event attendance exceeded that at Biden’s events prior to his withdrawal.

In the financial arena, Harris raised $311 million during the last weeks of July, followed by an additional $48 million after announcing Walz as her running mate. With this influx of funds, the campaign recently rolled out a $90 million advertising campaign for the remainder of August.

The Harris campaign is focused on converting the high turnout at her rallies into a robust network of campaign volunteers in crucial battleground states. For instance, over 5,000 individuals signed up for volunteer shifts during a rally held in Las Vegas last Saturday.

“This week will showcase to voters who Vice President Kamala Harris is—from her background as a resilient prosecutor to her efforts to uplift working families—and how she stands in stark opposition to the potential risks posed by another Trump presidency,” stated Dan Kanninen, the campaign’s battleground states director. “We are not taking anything for granted; our efforts are aimed at reaching the battleground state voters who will ultimately decide this election.”

Despite the visible momentum, Harris refers to herself as the underdog in this race. Current polling shows that the competition remains close: CBS News has Harris leading Trump by just one point, with results within the margin of error across all seven battleground states.

In the lead-up to the Democratic convention, Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, have conducted multiple press conferences and campaign stops, attacking both Biden and Harris, along with her newly proposed economic initiatives. “Let them have their convention. And who knows how that’s going to turn out. Joe Biden is a very angry man. You know that right? Because they took it away from him. They usurped it,” Trump stated during a rally in Asheville, North Carolina.

Following Biden’s exit, Harris quickly garnered the backing of Democratic delegates. She’s also profiting from the battleground state infrastructure that Biden had in place, which surpasses what Trump and the Republicans possess. Just a week prior to his debate against Trump, Biden’s campaign had hired its 1,000th staffer and operated 200 coordinated offices in battleground areas. Currently, the Harris campaign boasts over 1,600 staffers and more than 280 offices nationwide.

Outside of official campaign efforts, grassroots organizing for Harris has continued to flourish. A series of large Zoom calls began on the night of her campaign launch when the “Win With Black Women” organization hosted a virtual meeting attended by over 44,000 Black women and allies.

Recently, “Hype Women for Harris” kicked off its initiative with the first of seven virtual calls featuring WNBA player Cameron Brink, along with actors Jamie Lee Curtis, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Sophia Bush scheduled to appear.

Source: CBS News