Kamala Harris has launched an unprecedented field operation on the backs of volunteers in swing states that far exceeds Donald Trump’s in scope and size, her presidential campaign aides say.
“Trump’s battleground infrastructure simply pales in comparison,” Dan Kanninen, the battleground states director for Harris, told reporters during a Monday afternoon call.
The people power complements the more than $200 million raised in the Harris camp’s first week, two-thirds of which came from new donors, according to the campaign.
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“We were only able to pull this off, this massive mobilization, because of the battleground infrastructure that we already had in place,” Kanninen said, a nod to the fact that Harris acquired President Joe Biden’s campaign staff and headquarters.
The battleground strategy reveal comes as polls show Trump either leads or ties Harris in every critical swing state except Minnesota, where Harris now leads the GOP nominee by around 8 percentage points. In other states, she has winnowed the sizable lead Trump had over Biden, all while raking in endorsements and participation from major celebrities—including Megan Thee Stallion, who is set to perform at a Harris rally in Atlanta on Tuesday.
But it's the regular, everyday folks who are carrying the show.
Kanninen said 300 voters showed up for Harris in “deep red Forsyth County, Georgia,” where Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear appeared Sunday morning. A similar number showed up to a rural event in Pennsylvania with Keystone state Gov. Josh Shapiro. Even more turned out for a canvass launch in St. Paul with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
All three men are considered possible VP picks for Harris. Kanninen also namechecked Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL), the first Gen Z member of Congress, who held an event for Harris in the suburbs of Las Vegas.
Kanninen boasted a dizzying array of numbers: More than 2,300 campaign-related events in one weekend; 360,000 new volunteers—double the number from three days prior; 29,000 volunteers knocking on 126,000 doors in 48 hours, then making six times as many phone calls.
The Democratic battleground states director said the campaign has more than 260 field offices in the swing states that will likely decide the outcome of the 2024 election, along with more than 1,300 staffers.
Hundreds of others are already defending the “blue wall” for Harris, with more on the way, he said. Georgia opened three new offices over the weekend and the size of the teams in Arizona and North Carolina will soon double.
On policy, Harris Communications Director Michael Tyler said the campaign will focus on abortion rights. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and other high-profile surrogates will hammer the issue this week, he said.
Harris herself is scheduled to meet with reproductive rights leaders in Atlanta before her rally with Georgia politicians who include former gubernatorial hopeful Stacey Abrams.
When asked if the campaign was worried about Republicans painting Harris as “an abortion extremist,” Tyler reminded reporters of the “extreme” candidates on the GOP ticket: Donald Trump and J.D. Vance.
“They’re attacking things like IVF, contraception,” Tyler said. “They’re attacking people who decide not to have kids, right? I think the only elegy that they should be writing is for their appeals to the mainstream of the American electorate, because they have been falling flat on their face.”
