Donald Trump will hold a rally and speech in North Carolina on Wednesday that his campaign is billing as a significant economic address. Set in a Democratic city surrounded by staunchly Republican mountain counties, the event carries both national and local implications for the former president.
Meanwhile, Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign is launching a $90 million advertising effort over the next three weeks to introduce the Democrat to voters and sharpen the contrast with Trump. The media buy marks her campaign’s largest-yet investment in messaging to voters with just 2 1/2 months until Election Day in November.
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Here’s the Latest:
Judge rejects Donald Trump’s latest demand to step aside from hush money criminal case
Donald Trump has lost his latest bid for a new judge in his New York hush money criminal case as it heads toward a key ruling and potential sentencing next month.
In a decision posted Wednesday, Judge Juan M. Merchan declined to step aside and said Trump’s demand was a rehash “rife with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims” about his ability to remain impartial.
It’s the third time Merchan has rejected such a request from lawyers for the former president and current Republican nominee. They contend the judge has a conflict of interest because his daughter works as a political consultant for prominent Democrats, including Kamala Harris when she sought the Democrats’ 2020 presidential nomination. Harris is now the party’s nominee against Trump.
The judge’s daughter, Loren Merchan, met Harris occasionally in 2019 but never “developed an individual relationship” with her, consulting firm founder Mike Nellis told the chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, in a letter Tuesday. The firm, Authentic Campaigns Inc., has not worked for Harris’ campaign, President Joe Biden’s now-ended reelection bid or the Democratic National Committee in the 2024 election cycle, Nellis said.
Turnout in Wisconsin election tops 26%, highest in 60 years for fall primary in presidential year
Turnout in Wisconsin’s election Tuesday was the highest in 60 years for a presidential year partisan primary, with over 26% of the state’s voting-age population casting ballots, based on unofficial results.
The election was marked by voters rejecting two constitutional amendments that sought to limit the governor’s power to spend money and deciding a pair of hotly contested congressional primaries. The election was also the first under newly drawn legislative maps, creating dozens of competitive races in addition to other hot contests for local office.
The city of Madison, a Democratic stronghold, had 45% turnout — the highest for a fall partisan turnout in at least 40 years, the farthest back the clerk’s office has records.
A proposed New York amendment lacks 1 word that could drive voter turnout: ‘abortion’
A proposed amendment to New York’s constitution meant to protect abortion access is a crucial part of Democrats’ plans to drive voter turnout in the state this fall and potentially flip vital congressional districts.
But there could be a problem: The ballot question doesn’t mention the word “abortion.”
Arguments began Wednesday over a lawsuit Democrats hope will force election officials to include the term in an explanation of the amendment that voters will see when casting their ballots.
The unusual legal effort begins weeks after the state Board of Elections chose late last month to use the measure’s technical language verbatim rather than interpret it in its explanation to voters.
Democrats plan “DemPalooza” during the party’s convention in Chicago next week
The Democratic National Committee will offer a schedule of trainings, panels and other programming it’s calling “DemPalooza” during the party’s convention in Chicago next week. The name is a play on the Lollapalooza music festival Chicago plays hosts to every year.
The DNC said Wednesday that the “DemPalooza” events will be held daily at McCormick Place. The convention itself will take place at the United Center.
“DemPalooza” events will range from trainings on how to use organizing tools to polling briefings and skills workshops. The DNC says these programs are part of its and the Harris campaign’s efforts to organize and reach voters in an evolving media environment and provide opportunities for Democrats to take what they’ve learned back to the communities that will decide the November presidential election.
“DemPalooza” will also feature an expo with vendor booths and interactive spaces for participants to make friendship bracelets, get a “Kamala Harris” manicure, listen to podcasts or watch performances by local artists.
Americans give Harris an advantage over Trump on honesty and discipline, an AP-NORC poll finds
Vice President Kamala Harris has a perceived advantage over former President Donald Trump on several leadership qualities such as honesty, a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds, although Americans are slightly more likely to trust Trump on the economy and immigration.
Nearly half of Americans say that “committed to democracy” and “disciplined” are attributes that better describe Harris. About 3 in 10 say these qualities better describe Trump.
About 4 in 10 say Harris is someone who “cares about people like you” while about 3 in 10 say that about Trump. About 4 in 10 say “honest” better describes Harris and 24% say that quality better describes Trump.
Both parties are racing to define Harris as she prepares to accept the Democratic nomination at the party’s convention next week. The poll suggests she carries some of the same baggage that weighed down President Joe Biden before he ended his reelection bid but has advantages over Trump when they’re compared to each other. And Democrats continue to be much happier about her candidacy than they were about Biden’s.
Harris campaign’s new $90 million in battleground ads in August aims to sharpen contrast with Trump
Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign is launching a $90 million advertising effort over the next three weeks to introduce the Democrat to voters and sharpen the contrast with Republican Donald Trump.
The media buy marks her campaign’s largest-yet investment in messaging to voters with just 2 1/2 months until Election Day in November. It comes on the heels of a $50 million worth of ads booked last month shortly after Harris replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the party’s ticket.
Harris’ campaign is buoyed by a rush of fundraising since the switch, and is now moving to spend the money in an effort to counter what had been overwhelming spending by Trump and his allies in the days after Biden dropped out.
Harris’ team said the ad campaign will focus on the vice president’s personal narrative, her career as a prosecutor in California, her commitment to standing up to powerful interests, and a contrast with what it termed Trump’s “dangerous, extreme agenda.”
Trump is going to North Carolina for an economic speech. Can he stick to a clear message?
Donald Trump will have another opportunity Wednesday to recalibrate his presidential comeback bid, this time with a rally and speech in North Carolina that his campaign is billing as a significant economic address.
Set in a Democratic city surrounded by staunchly Republican mountain counties, the event carries both national and local implications for the former president.
Republicans are looking for Trump to focus the scattershot arguments and attacks he’s made on Vice President Kamala Harris since Democrats elevated her as their presidential nominee. Twice in the last week, Trump has fumbled such an opportunity, first in an hourlong news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, then in a 2 1/2-hour conversation on the social media platform X with CEO Elon Musk.
The latest attempt comes in the state that delivered Trump his closest statewide margin of victory four years ago and that is once again expected to be a battleground in 2024.
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