(AFP) – After winning support from Democratic party heavyweights, Kamala Harris will test her potential candidacy with voters Tuesday at a campaign rally in Wisconsin, a critical “swing state” for her likely face-off with Donald Trump.
The vice president, who has stepped in for Joe Biden in one of the largest election upheavals in modern US history, has less than four months to convince the American public she has what it takes for highest office.
At a campaign event Monday night in Delaware, the 59-year-old gave the public a taste of what she as candidate would look like. “I know Donald Trump’s type,” the former prosecutor quipped, calling Trump, a convicted felon, a “predator” and a “con man.” “We’re going to win,” she said to the applause of supporters. The former senator from California also pledged to put abortion rights at the center of her campaign and to fight for the right to control one’s own body.
– Next stop, Milwaukee –
These talking points are among the arguments she’ll raise Tuesday at her first official presidential campaign rally in Milwaukee. The selection of Wisconsin’s capital is no accident — last week, the city played host to the Republican National Convention where Donald Trump was nominated as the party’s official candidate for president. The four-day gala showcased the former president’s stronghold on the party. After surviving an assassination attempt mere days earlier, the billionaire was given a hero’s welcome and celebrated with much fanfare.
– Party support –
Wisconsin is also one of the handful of states that will decide the winner of the November 5 presidential election. Donald Trump was in the lead in polls in the state against Joe Biden, but it is still too early to know whether he will maintain that lead against Kamala Harris.
Harris will be formally named the Democratic Party’s nominee at its convention in mid-August. The vice president has already received support from a number of Democrat state governors — some of whom were seen as possible rivals — as well as other power players like Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton. Some notable holdouts remain, however, including former president Barack Obama and Democratic congressional leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer.
Joe Biden, after his shock announcement Sunday that he was dropping out of the race to the White House, urged his fellow Democrats on Monday to rally around Harris’ candidacy. “She’s the best,” he said, his voice still hoarse from Covid.
– Camille CAMDESSUS
© 2024 AFP
