在副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯入主白宫的过程中，她获得梦寐以求的270张选举人票的途径已经发生了变化她是民主党的提名人-因为她可能会比乔·拜登总统在阳光地带等地区表现得更好。
拜登上个月决定退出2024年竞选哈里斯的上升为竞选注入了新的热情——哈里斯竞选团队希望利用这一点本周巡回战场州和她在一起新的竞选搭档，明尼苏达州州长蒂姆·沃尔兹其中包括周五在阳光地带的亚利桑那州和周六在内华达州的停留。
阳光地带包括南部和西部的州，从佛罗里达州和佐治亚州到海湾各州，再到加利福尼亚州，包括几个2024年的战场州，哈里斯和前总统唐纳德·特朗普都将在11月份努力获胜。
专家告诉美国广播公司新闻(ABC News)，拜登的竞选活动专注于拯救民主和特朗普在这一努力中构成的威胁，努力获取动员他在2020年大选中险胜的阳光地带各州选民所需的能量，包括亚利桑那州和佐治亚州。现在，哈里斯的竞选团队正在努力吸引令人垂涎的阳光地带选民，他们可能会帮助她赢得白宫。
扩大哈里斯的基础
共和党和民主党的策略师都认为，哈里斯能够获得的势头已经在阳光地带铺平了新的道路，竞选活动现在可以切实跨越。
亚利桑那州共和党资深顾问查克·库格林说，哈里斯可以在亚利桑那州取得拜登无法取得的进展。
“哈里斯似乎抓住了‘我向前看，他们向后看’的叙事，亚利桑那州是一个向前看的州，”库格林说，他在2017年离开该党后，现在注册为“PND”或“未指定的政党”。
亚利桑那州共和党战略家Lorna Romero告诉ABC新闻，竞选的“前瞻性”信息是许多选民在候选人身上寻找的。然而，她说，她认为哈里斯如果想在拜登在2020年以大约10，000票的微弱优势赢得共和党人的支持，必须做得更多。
“我认为哈里斯真的需要把自己与拜登政府分开，因为共和党人一直在做的事情是指出拜登治下的失败，比如边境，”罗梅罗谈到亚利桑那州时说，亚利桑那州的移民和边境辩论-2024年的一个关键选民问题-已经激烈展开。
哈里斯的竞选团队正在努力动摇一些共和党选民。为了赢得阳光地带的州，哈里斯不仅要吸引她的基础选民，还要争取温和派和共和党选民。该运动在全国范围内发起了一个基层组织项目，以吸引名为“哈里斯的共和党人”的共和党人
库格林说，无论是哪个党派，移民和经济等问题都是亚利桑那州居民最关心的问题。但是像堕胎这样的问题刺激了两党的选民前往投票站。
在亚利桑那州，堕胎将出现在11月的投票中，此前亚利桑那州最高法院的一项裁决恢复了1864年几乎完全的堕胎禁令，这可能会惩罚提供堕胎服务的提供商。在亚利桑那州最高法院做出裁决之前，该州已经实施了为期15周的堕胎禁令。
库格林说，他认为堕胎投票可能是该州的一个主要“投票机制”。
2024年8月7日，副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯在密歇根州罗穆卢斯与明尼苏达州州长蒂姆·沃尔兹的集会上发表讲话。
安德鲁·罗斯/祖马新闻专线/shut/安德鲁·罗斯/zuma新闻专线/Shut
罗梅罗说，在接下来的几个月里，这些问题将使哈里斯在“疏远”摇摆选民和让进步人士“高兴”之间做出艰难的平衡
来自北卡罗莱纳州的民主党战略家摩根·杰克逊说，她认为哈里斯在这个阳光地带的州获胜的机会将会简单得多。
尽管拜登在2020年以大约9万张选票的优势输掉了北卡罗来纳州，但杰克逊说，她认为该州受过大学教育的年轻成年人人口迅速增长，他们优先考虑堕胎等问题，这将有助于扭转该州的局面。
根据人口普查局的数据，2023年，罗利是一个学院和大学联盟的所在地，是美国第三大增长最快的城市。
杰克森说:“赢得北卡罗莱纳州的方法是，在城市和郊区提高分数，尽量减少在农村地区的损失，我认为卡玛拉·哈里斯在这方面做得很好。”。
哈里斯的候选资格导致黑人选民热情高涨。这可能会对摇摆州产生影响
佐治亚州自1992年以来首次出现蓝色，在拜登2020年的胜利中发挥了至关重要的作用，战略家艾米·莫顿说，她已经看到了哈里斯领导该党的影响。
“对于我们所有的客户，我们需要修改我们对投票率的预测，”佐治亚州民主党策略师艾米·莫顿告诉她的团队，在拜登退出竞选后，哈里斯获得了大量支持。“这就是哈里斯会对票产生的影响。”
阳光地带的选民热情
根据538的平均民调，哈里斯在阳光地带的摇摆州比拜登表现得更好。
例如，在亚利桑那州，特朗普仅以0.5个百分点的优势领先于哈里斯的44.4%538的平均投票率。拜登以39.5%的支持率离开了竞选。在乔治亚州，538的平均民调显示特朗普以45.8%的微弱优势领先，哈里斯为45.2%;拜登在退出竞选前的民调支持率为39.2%。
亚利桑那州独立选民卢米斯·亨利计划参加哈里斯和沃尔兹周五在凤凰城举办的集会。
“我完全被吹走了。这是我第一次对政治感到振奋和兴奋，”亨利说。
亨利说，虽然以前不熟悉沃尔兹，但州长的“明尼苏达州好人”形象赢得了他的好感。
“我想，这家伙藏到哪里去了?他看起来像是一个真正的工人阶级，并且是可信的。我认为这是长久以来政治中所缺乏的。
来自凤凰城的35岁的斯蒂芬妮·穆尼奥斯也计划参加周五的集会，她也赞成增加哈里斯的票数。
“很多人批评卡玛拉·哈里斯像个检察官，太保守了，我觉得他带来了更多温暖的感觉，他们很好地发挥了彼此的作用，”穆尼奥斯说。
亨利告诉美国广播公司新闻，不管是哪个党派，这个国家已经准备好从“分裂”中继续前进，他认为哈里斯将有助于缓解这些紧张局势。
“我认为她只需要做她自己，”亨利说。“我认为她是可爱的，我认为如果她只是与我们的国家进行更直接的对话，人们会看到这一点和许多这种丑陋的左翼和右翼，以及分裂——我认为她可以慢慢地解冻一点。”
Harris campaign's surge in momentum puts Sun Belt back in play
In Vice President Kamala Harris' bid for the White House, her pathway to the coveted 270 electoral votes has evolved now thatshe is the Democratic Party's nominee-- as she can potentially fare better than President Joe Biden in regions like the Sun Belt.
Biden's decision to leave the 2024 race last monthand Harris' ascension to the top of the ticket has injected fresh enthusiasm into the contest -- and the Harris campaign is looking to capitalize on that during atour of battleground states this weekwith hernewly minted running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, which includes stops in the Sun Belt states of Arizona on Friday and Nevada on Saturday.
The Sun Belt -- which includes states in the South and West, ranging from Florida and Georgia through the Gulf states into California -- contains several 2024 battleground states that both Harris and former President Donald Trump will target in their effort to win in November.
Biden's campaign, focused on saving democracy and the threat Trump poses in the effort, struggled to capture the energy needed to mobilize voters in the Sun Belt states he narrowly won during the 2020 election -- including Arizona and Georgia, experts told ABC News. Now Harris' campaign is working to appeal to the coveted Sun Belt voters who could help her win the White House.
Broadening Harris' base
Republican and Democratic strategists both agree that the momentum Harris has been able to garner has paved new lines in the Sun Belt that the campaign can now realistically cross.
Chuck Coughlin, a longtime Republican consultant in Arizona, said Harris can make inroads in Arizona where Biden was not able to.
"Harris seems to have grasped the 'I'm looking forward, they're looking backward' narrative and Arizona is a forward-looking state," said Coughlin, who is now registered as a "PND" or "Party Not Designated" after leaving the party in 2017.
Lorna Romero, an Arizona GOP strategist, told ABC News that the campaign's "forward looking" messaging is what a lot of voters are looking for in a candidate. However, she said she thinks Harris will have to do a lot more if she wants to win over Republicans in the state that Biden narrowly won in 2020 by roughly 10,000 votes.
"I think Harris really needs to separate herself from the Biden administration because what Republicans have been doing has been pointing out the failures under Biden like the border," Romero said of Arizona, a state where the immigration and border debate -- a key voter issue in 2024 -- has raged.
And Harris' campaign is working to sway some of those Republican voters. In order to win the Sun Belt states, Harris will not only have to appeal to her base, but also woo moderate and Republican voters. The campaign has launched a grassroots organizing program nationwide to attract Republicans called "Republicans for Harris."
No matter the party, issues such as immigration and the economy are top of mind for Arizona residents, according to Coughlin. But issues such as abortion have galvanized voters on both sides of the aisle to head to the polls.
In Arizona, abortion will appear on the ballot in November after an Arizona Supreme Court decision revived an 1864 near-total abortion ban, which could potentially punish providers who provide an abortion. Before the Arizona Supreme Court decision, the state had a 15-week abortion ban in place.
Coughlin said he thinks abortion on the ballot could be a major "turnout mechanism" in the state.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a rally with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in Romulus, Mich., on Aug. 7, 2024.
Andrew Roth/zuma Press Wire/shut/Andrew Roth/ZUMA Press Wire/Shut
Romero says these issues will make for a tough balancing act for Harris over these next few months between "alienating" swing voters and keeping progressives "happy."
Morgan Jackson, a Democratic strategist from North Carolina, said she thinks Harris' chances of winning over that battleground Sun Belt state will be a lot simpler.
Although Biden lost North Carolina in 2020 by some 90,000 votes, Jackson said she thinks the state's rapidly growing population of young, college-educated adults who prioritize issues such as abortion will help to flip the state.
In 2023, Raleigh -- which is home to a consortium of colleges and universities -- was America's third fastest-growing city, according to the Census bureau.
"The way you win North Carolina is you run up the score in the urban and suburban areas, and just try to limit your losses in the rural areas, and I think Kamala Harris is well positioned to do so," Jackson said.
Harris' candidacy has led to surge in Black voter enthusiasm. It could make a difference in swing states
In Georgia, which played a crucial role in Biden's 2020 victory after it went blue for the first time since 1992, strategist Amy Morton said she is already seeing the effects of Harris leading the party's ticket.
"For all of our clients, we will need to revise our projections for turnout upward," Georgia Democratic strategist Amy Morton told her team after a flood of Harris endorsements when Biden dropped out of the race. "That's the impact Harris will have on the ticket."
Voter enthusiasm in the Sun Belt
Harris is doing better than Biden in the Sun Belt's swing states, according to 538's polling average.
For example, in Arizona, Trump leads only by a half point margin -- 44.8% to Harris' 44.4%, accordingto 538's polling average. Biden left the race polling at 39.5%. In Georgia,538's polling average showsTrump leads by a small and similar margin -- 45.8% compared to 45.2% for Harris; Biden polled at 39.2% before leaving the race.
Loomis Henry, an independent voter and Arizona native, plans to attend the rally Harris and Walz are hosting in Phoenix on Friday.
"I'm completely blown away. And it's the first time I have felt invigorated and excited about politics," Henry said.
Although previously unfamiliar with Walz, the governor's "Minnesota nice" persona has won him over, Henry said.
"I'm like, where's this guy been hiding? He seems like he's really a working-class guy and authentic. And I think that has been lacking from politics for so long," Henry said.
Stephanie Munoz, a 35-year-old from Phoenix, who also plans to attend Friday's rally approved of the addition to the Harris ticket, too.
"A lot of people criticize Kamala Harris for being like a prosecutor and too uptight and I feel like he brings in more of that warmth feeling, and they play off each other very well," Munoz said.
Henry told ABC News that regardless of party, the country is ready to move on from its "divisions," and he thinks Harris will help to ease those tensions.
"I think she just needs to be herself," said Henry. "I think she's likable, and I think if she just has more direct dialogue with our country, people will see this and a lot of this ugly right and left, and division -- I think she can slowly thaw that out a little bit."
