Election 2024 live updates: Harris, facing a crucial week, closes in on running mate pick

Vice President Kamala Harris is set to launch a battleground tour next week with her yet-to-be-named running mate, with stops in seven swing states stretching from Pennsylvania to Nevada.

Vice President Kamala Harris, grappling with how to keep early 2024 Presidential election momentum alive, is also preparing for a crucial week that includes her most critical decision yet: choosing a running mate.

While Harris has secured enough delegates to become the Democratic nominee, delegates still have to participate in a “virtual roll call” to solidify her nomination.

Harris was the only candidate eligible to receive votes after no other candidate qualified by a Tuesday night deadline. She’s looking to officially claim the nomination on Monday evening when the DNC is expected to release final results.

Here’s what to know:

• Trump in Georgia: Over the weekend, Donald Trump picked a new fight with Georgia’s Republican governor as he campaigned in the key swing state where he’s looking to avenge his narrow 2020 loss.
• Harris’s VP pick: The likely Democratic nominee effectively has a deadline of Tuesday to select who will be her running mate. Her list has been whittled down to six contenders, AP sources say.
• Debate plan in flux: Last week, Trump said he is pulling out of a scheduled September debate with Harris on ABC and wants them to face off on Fox News.

17 min ago

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in court to fight lawsuit saying he falsely claimed to live in NY

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. arrived at a New York court Monday to fight a lawsuit alleging he falsely claimed to live in New York as he sought to get on the ballot in the state.

Kennedy appeared and sat at his attorneys’ table during legal arguments Monday morning, ahead of a civil trial expected to start later in the day in the state capital of Albany. Under state election law, a judge is set to decide the case without a jury.

The lawsuit alleges Kennedy’s nominating petition falsely said his residence was in New York’s northern suburbs while he actually has lived in Los Angeles since 2014, when he married “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actor Cheryl Hines.

The suit seeks to invalidate his petition. The case was brought by Clear Choice PAC, a super PAC led by supporters of Democratic President Joe Biden.

52 min ago

Gov. Josh Shapiro on status of Harris running mate selection: ‘I got nothing for you, man’

By MARK SCOLFORO

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro didn’t say anything about the status of the vice presidential candidate selection Monday morning as he arrived at the state Capitol in Harrisburg.

“I got nothing for you, man,” the first-term Democrat said and told an Associated Press reporter “have a great day” as he headed into the governor’s offices, flanked by an aide and several state troopers.

The officers and press secretary Manuel Bonder were waiting for Shapiro when he arrived just after 11 a.m. in a black SUV.

2:58 PM UTC

Trump blames Harris and Biden for drop in markets

Former President Donald Trump is blaming Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden for the tumbling of markets in Wall Street and around the world.

Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, made a series of posts on his network Truth Social, attacking his opponent Harris.

“Kamala is even worse than Crooked Joe. Markets will NEVER accept the Radical Left Lunatic that DESTROYED San Francisco and California, as a whole,” he wrote, and is labeling the plunging market the “Kamala Crash.”

In another post, Trump called it a “preview of the world markets without Donald J. Trump in the White House.”

The S&P 500 was down 3.1% in early trading with rising fears about a slowing U.S. economy. Japan’s Nikkei 225 helped start Monday by plunging 12.4% for its worst day since the Black Monday crash of 1987.

1:44 PM UTC

JD Vance: Harris’ running mate pick doesn’t matter to him

Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, told Fox News on Sunday that Harris’ pick doesn’t matter to him.

“Whoever she chooses, the problem is going to be Kamala Harris’ record and Kamala Harris’ policies,” he said, adding “it’s not going to be good for the country.”

1:05 PM UTC

Harris will begin a tour of 7 battleground states

Harris and her running mate — whoever that is — will launch into an aggressive, seven-state battleground tour that begins in Philadelphia on Tuesday and winds through Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.

Her early rallies have attracted enthusiastic thousands. Campaign officials say each stop will be loaded with local election officials, religious leaders, union members and more in an effort to show the diversity of her coalition.

Campaign officials are aware that momentum can be fleeting and are working to capitalize on the energy now, while managing expectations by continuing to emphasize that the race with Republican nominee Donald Trump is tight.

11:54 AM UTC

VP’s campaign launches ‘Republicans for Harris’

By ZEKE MILLER

Over the weekend, Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign launched “Republicans for Harris” as she looks to win over Republican voters put off by Donald Trump’s candidacy.

The program will be a “campaign within a campaign,” according to Harris’ team, using well-known Republicans to activate their networks, with a particular emphasis on primary voters who backed former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.

11:26 AM UTC

Hospitality workers’ union endorses Harris

By JOSH BOAK

The hospitality workers’ union UNITE HERE endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president, a rejoinder to Republican Donald Trump’s effort to woo restaurant and hotel workers by promising to make their tips tax-free.

The endorsement includes a commitment by the union to have its members knock on more than 3.3 million doors for Harris in swing states.

11:01 AM UTC

Trump tears into Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp again

By BILL BARROW, MEG KINNARD

Over the weekend, Donald Trump picked a new fight with Georgia’s Republican governor as he campaigned in the key swing state where he’s looking to avenge his narrow 2020 loss — a defeat he continues to blame on GOP officials for not giving into his false theories of election fraud.

Trump attacked Gov. Brian Kemp on his social media site before his Saturday rally and said Kemp should be “fighting Crime, not fighting Unity and the Republican Party.”

At his Atlanta rally, Trump assailed Kemp in a roughly 10-minute tirade, blaming him for his loss to Democratic President Joe Biden and for not stopping a local district attorney from prosecuting him and several associates for his efforts to overturn the results.

▶Read more about how Georgia is likely to see another closely contested election

10:42 AM UTC

Two rallies. Two Americas.

By BILL BARROW

The competing events were staged three months before Election Day in the state that produced the closest margin of the 2020 race for the White House. On policy, tone, the types of voters in attendance and even the music playlists, the rallies offered not just opposing visions of the country but starkly different versions of it.

It’s a snapshot in a way of how a divided nation might embrace a Trump comeback or a Harris ascension.

▶

how the dueling rallies in the same Atlanta arena showcase America’s deep divides.

10:31 AM UTC

Harris’s seven-state battleground tour begins tomorrow

By SEUNG MIN KIM, JONATHAN J. COOPER

Harris and her running mate are set to launch into an aggressive, seven-state battleground tour that begins tomorrow in Philadelphia and winds through Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.

▶

Harris’ crucial week ahead.