Kamala Heads To The Border: But The Upper Midwest Remains Key To The White House.
When Harris touches down in Arizona, she will be setting foot in the West for the first time in seven weeks. And a close read of her travel schedule and advertising across the battlegrounds suggests it isn’t the Sun Belt but the Rust Belt that her campaign is primarily banking on.
“Looking at spending and stops, it’s hard not to conclude that winning Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan is plan A for Harris to win,” said Mike Mikus, a Pennsylvania-based Democratic strategist. “Based on everything I’m seeing, Harris is stronger in the Rust Belt than the Sun Belt. Both are going to be very close either way.”
It’s a reality that some Democrats even in the South and West are beginning to accept. Recent polling shows former President Donald Trump’s strength in Arizona and other Sun Belt battlegrounds. Though Harris has brought those states within striking distance of victory — polls and her campaign’s spending show they are still in play — she continues to perform better in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
By Megan Messerly, Holly Otterbein and Jessica Piper, ‘Politco’
The Blue Wall crumbled 8 years ago and nothing in politics has been the same since. Methodically rebuilding the Upper Midwest electoral Democratic stop gap has been the top priority for the party ever since. States come and go in terms of being considered election toss ups, but some can’t be lost by the Dems if they hope to win Presidential elections. Ohio and Florida have left and gone MAGA as well as Iowa. Virginia, Colorado and New Hampshire have gone solidly blue. Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are the must haves-winner takes the White House and remain the focus of both campaigns for President.
