Former President Donald J. Trump and Senator JD Vance of Ohio are stopping today in two crucial battleground states: Mr. Trump in North Carolina, a state he won by a single percentage point in 2020, and Mr. Vance in Michigan, which Mr. Trump carried in 2016 but lost four years later. The Republicans are hoping to take back some of the momentum Vice President Kamala Harris has swiftly gained since becoming the Democrats’ nominee.
New polling from the Cook Political Report reflected the energy around Ms. Harris, showing her leading Mr. Trump slightly or tied among likely voters in six of the seven battlegrounds polled — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Ms. Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, also picked up the endorsement of the Teamsters union’s Black caucus, though its parent union has remained silent.
Here’s what else to know:
New polling from the Cook Political Report reflected the energy around Ms. Harris, showing her leading Mr. Trump slightly or tied among likely voters in six of the seven battlegrounds polled — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Ms. Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, also picked up the endorsement of the Teamsters union’s Black caucus, though its parent union has remained silent.
Here’s what else to know:
- On the trail: Mr. Trump is set to appear at a campaign event in Asheville, N.C., while Mr. Vance attended a small rally in Byron Center, Mich., just south of Grand Rapids. Mr. Walz continues his swing of solo campaign appearances with fund-raisers in Denver and Boston. Ms. Harris is scheduled to deliver an economy-focused speech on Friday in Raleigh, N.C., and she and Mr. Walz will campaign in Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania on Sunday, the day before the Democratic National Convention kicks off.
- Poll shows a shift: The new Cook poll was a marked change from the same surveys in May that showed Mr. Trump leading by a solid margin or tied across seven swing states. In the latest polling, he maintained a slim margin in just one: Nevada. The reversal in North Carolina is particularly stark — Mr. Trump held one of his largest leads there in May, and the candidates are now neck-and-neck.
- Fall races set: A pair of prominent primaries were held on Tuesday. Representative Ilhan Omar, a progressive lightning rod, won the primary for her Minnesota seat. In Wisconsin, Eric Hovde, a wealthy businessman endorsed by Donald Trump, won the G.O.P. contest to challenge Senator Tammy Baldwin, the Democratic incumbent.
- Union cries foul on Trump and Musk: The United Automobile Workers union filed charges with federal labor regulators accusing Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk, in their livestream this week, of voicing support for the practice of firing workers when they go on strike.
- Doubling up: With Democrats gathering in Chicago for their nominating convention next week, the Harris campaign is planning for Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz to also hold a rally in Milwaukee — the same city where Republicans held their convention last month.
- Arizona abortion measure: A proposal to establish a right to abortion in Arizona’s Constitution will be on the ballot in November — and it could influence turnout in the battleground state. Democrats have leveraged unhappiness about the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade into gains in elections up and down the ballot over the last two years, but Republicans are betting that they can also use ballot questions to drive turnout in their favor in Arizona.
- Reaching out: Mr. Trump plans to meet with Miriam Adelson, the widow of the casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, after his aide sent her angry texts in his name. The messages accused her of having “RINOs” — meaning, Republicans in name only — running a super PAC, and that her late husband never would have tolerated it.
