Now almost certain to be designated as candidate by her camp, Kamala Harris is now testing her candidacy with voters: the Democrat is holding a rally on Tuesday in Wisconsin, a decisive state for her probable duel against Donald Trump.
The vice president, who replaces Joe Biden at short notice after one of the biggest political upheavals in modern history, has less than four months to convince Americans of the strength of her profile.
At a campaign event Monday night in Delaware, the 50-year-old gave a sneak peek at what Kamala Harris would look like as a candidate.
“I can see the kind of guy Donald Trump is.”said the former prosecutor, comparing the Republican candidate, who has been convicted of criminal offences, to a “predator” and one “crook”.
” We will win “she promised, to the applause of democratic activists.
The former California senator also pledged to put abortion rights at the heart of her campaign and to “fight for the right to control one’s body”.
Trump’s coronation in Milwaukee
These are the arguments she will now test on Tuesday with voters at her first campaign meeting in Milwaukee.
Donald Trump at the Republican convention in Milwaukee, July 18, 2024 / Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP
The choice of this Wisconsin metropolis, overlooking Lake Michigan, is obviously not random.
The Great Lakes city hosted the Republican convention last week, where Donald Trump was nominated as his party’s nominee for the election.
A four-day high mass that illustrated the former president’s absolute control over the Republicans. The billionaire, who had just escaped an assassination attempt, was received as a hero and crowned with fanfare.
“It has to be Kamala”
But Wisconsin is also, and above all, one of the five or six states that must decide the fate of the presidential election on November 5.
Donald Trump led the race in this state against Joe Biden, but it is still too early to say whether he will maintain his lead against Kamala Harris, if she is indeed chosen as the Democratic candidate.
A choice that is no longer in doubt: a majority of Democratic delegates – the 4,000 or so people responsible for officially designating the party’s candidate – have already announced their intention to support her, American media reported on Monday evening.
Kamala Harris said this to herself “proud to have gained the broad support needed to become the party’s candidate” democrat. “I look forward to formally accepting this appointment soon.”by the party’s convention scheduled for mid-August in Chicago, she added.
The 59-year-old vice president has already received endorsements from a host of governors, some of whom were seen as potential rivals, and other party heavyweights, including Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton.
(COMBO) Donald Trump in Milwaukee on July 18, 2024 and Kamala Harris on July 22, 2024 / Nick Oxford, Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP/Archives
But former President Barack Obama and Democratic congressional leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer have yet to offer their explicit support.
Joe Biden, who made the shock announcement on Sunday that he was dropping out of the race for the White House, urged Democrats on Monday to rally around his vice-president’s candidacy.
” It is the best “assured the president, who will return to the White House on Tuesday after isolating himself in his vacation home, his voice still hoarse from Covid.
For Bill Leiner, a Democratic activist interviewed by AFP in Pennsylvania, Ms Harris’ candidacy is a no-brainer.
“It has to be Kamala Harris”he said. “Because if we don’t choose Kamala Harris, we lose the election.”
