Kamala Harris 2024 presidential campaign

On January 21, 2019, Harris announced that she would run for president in the 2020 election. At the time, Harris was a U.S. senator from California. In debates, Harris was criticized by opponents over her record as Attorney General of California, including her past positions on marijuana, cash bail, and parole reform and her alleged negligence in investigating police misconduct. Harris's campaign experienced stagnant polling and fundraising struggles in November 2019. She officially withdrew from the Democratic primaries in December 2019. On March 8, 2020, she endorsed Joe Biden for president. On August 11, 2020, Harris was chosen by Biden to be his running mate. After Biden and Harris won the general election, she became the first female vice president of the United States in 2021. Biden initially sought re-election in 2024 with Harris was expected to remain as his running mate. After the June 27, 2024 presidential debate against then-presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, concerns grew about then-presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Biden's age and fitness to serve a second term. Biden initially pushed back "aggressively" at the idea that he should drop out. On June28, New York magazine wrote that while most Democrats did not want Harris to replace Biden, she would be the most likely choice if he were to end his campaign. At the time, Harris had higher approval ratings than other potential Democratic contenders for the 2028 presidential election. By July3, senior Democrats were discussing Harris as a potential replacement on the presidential ballot if Biden withdrew his candidacy. Democrats' reactions to the possibility ranged from "acceptance to trepidation to resignation". Harris defended Biden, saying that the debate "wasn't his finest hour" but adding that "the outcome of this election cannot be determined by one day in June". Nonetheless, Harris's allies began to strategize about her pathway to the 2024 Democratic nomination in the event that Biden opted to exit the race. On July18, The Hill reported that in the next few days, Biden would make a speech about the future of his political career, and that congressional Democrats expected Harris to be the new nominee. By July19, Democrats were "quietly mapping" a Harris presidential campaign. Following pressure from Democrats, Biden ultimately withdrew from the race on July21, 2024, and immediately endorsed Harris to replace him in his place as the party's presidential nominee. ==Campaign==

Announcement On July21, 2024, Harris quickly announced her own presidential campaign later that day, and the "Biden for President" campaign committee filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to change its name to "Harris for President". Democratic nominee On July22, Harris secured enough non-binding endorsements of the uncommitted delegates that had previously been pledged to Biden to become the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, and officially became the party's presidential nominee after a formal roll call vote, held from August1 to August5. In the first 24 hours of Harris's candidacy, the presidential campaign raised $81million in small-dollar donations, the highest single-day total of any presidential candidate in history. By August1, ten days after the launch of the campaign, the Harris campaign raised $310million in small-dollar donations through ActBlue. Owing to strong fundraising numbers, in September, the Harris campaign directed its joint accounts to donate $25 million to down-ballot races for the House, Senate, governor, and state legislatures. By October, less than three months after entering the race, Harris' campaign and affiliated committees had raised over $1 billion, not including money donated to allied super PACs. The total raised by the Campaign notably beat Trump's $853 million raised in concert with the RNC in all of 2024. The New York Times described Harris' fundraising haul as unique, stating that "no presidential candidate is believed to have ever raised so much so fast after entering a race". It also noted that the campaign had stopped trumpeting its totals to prevent contributors from becoming complacent, and remained concerned about "billionaire-funded Republican super PACs" impacting the race. A number of grassroots fundraising groups were established and held virtual organizing calls, including White Dudes for Harris, South Asian Women for Harris, Latinas for Harris, Native Women + Two Spirit for Harris, Women for Harris, Caribbean-Americans for Harris, Filipino Americans for Harris, Disabled Voters for Harris, Win With Black Women, Win With Black Men, and White Women: Answer the Call (which was the largest Zoom call in history). In the 24 hours after announcing Walz as Harris's running mate, the campaign raised $36million. Harris and Walz held a private fundraiser at the Fairmont in San Francisco on August11; the 700 attendees raised $12million and included John Doerr, Reid Hoffman, and Tom Steyer. During the week of August12, Walz headlined a string of private fundraisers in Orange County, California; Providence, Rhode Island; Boston; Denver; and Southampton, New York. Doug Emhoff, Harris' husband, spoke at private fundraisers in the New York City area on August26 and 27, in Water Mill, North Haven (at the home of Richard C. Perry) and Manhattan. Super PAC and other outside funding Super PACs supportive of Harris spent hundreds of millions of dollars in funding, outpacing the Trump's campaign support from conservative super PACs. These super PACs, in turn, raised portions of the money through donations from non-profits not required to disclose donors. This is sometimes referred to as "dark money". By late October 2024, it was estimated that Harris-aligned super PACs raised $195.8 million in comparison to the $23.2 million raised by Trump-aligned super PACs. The official super PAC of the Campaign, Future Forward, raised $950 million by the end of the election, setting a record for money raised by an organization not affiliated with a candidate. $613 million of that sum came from Future Forward USA Action, the non-profit, dark money arm of Future Forward. 10 donations comprised $515 million of that $613 million figure It was reported the Campaign grew concerned with one group amassing so much capital and decision making power with regards to advertisments, and urged donors to back other groups for get-out-the-vote efforts. Later, Billy Wimsatt, Founder of Movement Voter Project, warned donors that the Campaign and Future Forward were spending too much on paid media, rather than GOTV operations and a ground game in key states. On August 20, 2024, Republican Party presidential primaries spokesperson Steven Cheung posted on Twitter a 13-second video of Trump's arrival in Detroit, Michigan, for a rally using "Freedom". The following day Beyoncé's record label and music publisher sent a cease-and-desist to Trump for using the song without permission. After Walz was introduced as her running mate, the campaign initially used Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" as his walk-on music at rallies, but later began using John Mellencamp's "Small Town" instead by August 13. In August 2024, after Trump used the Foo Fighters song "My Hero" at a rally without permission and against the band's wishes, the Foo Fighters released a statement saying that any increased royalties from the song's usage would be donated directly to the Harris 2024 presidential campaign. Advertising '' video about the campaign's attempts to attract Latino voters|250x250px A digital ad featuring Beyoncé's song "Freedom" debuted on July25. On August8, the Harris campaign released an ad in both English and Spanish, titled "Determination", directed towards Latino voters in battleground states. The next day, another ad called "Tougher" focused on the southern border was released, calling Harris a "border-state prosecutor". The Harris campaign had a presence on X and Instagram known as @KamalaHQ, which had 1.3 million followers on X as of September 2024. The account also spread deceptively edited videos of Donald Trump and JD Vance on several occasions, spawning an X account dedicated solely to fact-checking it that had 268,000 followers as of September 2024. Kamala is for they/them "Kamala is for they/them" was a political advertisement that Trump's 2024 presidential campaign commissioned to attack Harris's views on transgender rights. Trump spent more money on this ad than any other in the campaign, with its premise that Harris supported tax-funded gender-affirming surgery for transgender people in prison, using clips of her talking about the policy in an interview. The ad's kicker, which mocked preferred gender pronouns, was "Kamala is for they/them, Trump is for you." Freedom Town, USA Freedom Town, USA was a custom multiplayer map in the video game Fortnite Creative created to promote the campaign, albeit not endorsed by Epic Games themselves. The map was themed around pledges made by Harris as part of her campaign, including tax breaks for small businesses and affordable housing. Released on October 28, 2024, the map was created as part of an initiative by the Harris campaign to appeal to young, male voters. The map was promoted by gaming influencers such as Huskerrs, Modelmorg, In-game political signage, models, and audio cues were also features of the map. In one instance, an audio clip of Donald Trump saying "they're eating the dogs, eating the cats" played when the player collected a cat. The map was met with very weak engagement, with a peak player count of 383 concurrent players. In addition, guns were unavailable to players of the map, a subject of controversy among users. Advisers and staff Compared with the Biden campaign's group of advisers and confidants, Harris relied on a larger and more diverse group. Julie Chávez Rodriguez served as campaign manager. Jen O'Malley Dillon, who was Biden's campaign chairwoman, was kept on in the same role by Harris; Jeffrey Katzenberg, Mitch Landrieu, Cedric Richmond, and Gretchen Whitmer were co-chairs. Harris also brought on Obama-era adviser David Plouffe. Gene Sperling was a senior economic adviser; Stephanie Cutter worked on DNC programming; Brian E. Nelson was the campaign's senior adviser for policy; and Sean Clegg, Karen Dunn, and Rohini Kosoglu helped with debate preparation. Additionally, Harris relied on family including her husband Doug Emhoff, sister Maya Harris, and brother-in-law Tony West as well as close friends, such as Chrisette Hudlin, who set Harris up with Emhoff on a blind date, and Minyon Moore, who originally recommended Harris as VP to Biden. Harris's transition team was chaired by US Ambassador to ASEAN Yohannes Abraham as the director of day-to-day operations, who also chaired the presidential transition of Joe Biden in 2020 and was a former staffer in the Obama White House. Law firm Covington & Burling, which assisted Harris in vetting her vice presidential pick, provided legal counsel to the transition organization. Adam Hodge, former spokesperson for the National Security Council and the U.S. Trade Representative's office was involved in the transition through his public relations firm. Former senior Harris aides Josh Hsu, Rachel Palermo, Gabriela Cristóbal, Erica Songer, and former White House counsel Dana Remus were also members of the transition team. On September 19, 2024, the transition team signed an agreement with the General Services Administration to accept the pre-election support offered to major party nominees, including office space and technological support. In contrast, by election day, Trump's team had still not yet signed the agreement. Similarly to Trump, Harris did not discuss who might serve in her potential administration prior to the election, even in private with aides. She was instead reported to have been focused solely on winning and believed that the planning was better suited after victory. This was chalked up to superstition by a Harris aide. A Politico article in October reported that this low-profile approach (described by one Democrat as "excessively quiet") worried some Democrats who wanted to know if the potential administration would look more like Biden's or not. ==Campaign events==

, on August9. Harris held her first campaign rally on July23, 2024, at the West Allis Central High School gymnasium in West Allis, Wisconsin; the Republican National Convention had been held a week earlier in nearby Milwaukee. The event reportedly grew a larger audience than any event held by Biden's 2024 campaign, according to campaign spokesperson Kevin Muñoz, who had previously expected around 3,000 people to attend. On July30, Harris held an event in Atlanta at Georgia State University's convocation center, telling the crowd of 8,000 people, "Well Donald... Meet me on the debate stage.... If you've got something to say, say it to my face." Megan Thee Stallion and Quavo also attended the rally, with Megan Thee Stallion performing several songs and addressing reproductive rights and Quavo speaking about his and Harris's gun violence prevention work. Harris's first rally featuring her running mate, Tim Walz, was held in Philadelphia at Temple University's Liacouras Center on August6. The campaign said that 12,000 people attended. The next day, Harris and Walz held rallies in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and Romulus, Michigan. An event scheduled for August8 in Raleigh, North Carolina, was postponed due to Hurricane Debby, as was a planned rally in Savannah, Georgia, on August9. Harris and Walz instead spoke on August8 in Wayne, Michigan, to UAW Local 900, representing workers at Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant, alongside Shawn Fain. on August10. Harris and Walz appeared on August9 in Glendale, Arizona, at Desert Diamond Arena; U.S. senator Mark Kelly, Arizona attorney general Kris Mayes, U.S. Senate candidate Ruben Gallego (AZ-3), and Republican Mesa mayor John Giles also spoke. Another rally took place the following day in Paradise, Nevada, at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas's Thomas & Mack Center. Before the rally started hundreds of people who wanted to attend the rally were turned away because the venue had reached its capacity. The capacity of the venue is about 18,000 people. According to the campaign, 14,000 people were in the arena and law enforcement closed the doors around 5:45 PM as people who were waiting in line outside became ill. The campaign estimated that 4,000 people were either waiting in line or in their cars when law enforcement closed the doors. On August13, Walz spoke at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union convention in Los Angeles, and he held a solo rally at the Astro Theater in La Vista, Nebraska, just outside of Omaha, on August17. Harris spoke about her economic platform on August16 at Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh, North Carolina. The campaign returned to Georgia for a bus tour on August28, with Harris and Walz visiting Liberty County High School in Hinesville and a barbecue restaurant in Savannah. Celebrity appearances and concert rallies Harris frequently held campaign rallies with celebrities and singers who have endorsed her campaign, including a series of concert rallies to drum up enthusiasm during the final stretch of the campaign. On October 26, Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland spoke and introduced Harris at a rally in Houston. On October 30, Mumford & Sons, Gracie Abrams, Remi Wolf, and The National performed ahead of Harris at a campaign rally targeting youth voters in Madison. Abrams and Wolf also giving speeches in support of Harris. On October 31, Los Tigres Del Norte performed ahead of her speech in Phoenix. Later that day, Jennifer Lopez and Maná were scheduled to appear alongside Harris in Las Vegas in an event targeting Latino voters. On November 1, Cardi B joined Harris at a campaign rally in West Allis, Wisconsin. During her speech, she strongly dismissed the notion of giving Trump another chance, highlighting her dedication to safeguarding her future and that of her children. Cardi's appearance was preceded by performances from rappers Flo Milli and GloRilla, and actor Keegan-Michael Key. On November 2, she made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live, appearing in the episode's cold open, having a pep talk with her impersonator Maya Rudolph. FCC regulator Brendan Carr claimed that her guest appearance violated equal time rules that govern political programming. In response, NBC aired two pro-Trump advertisements at the Trump campaign's request. Following the election, Governor of Connecticut Ned Lamont criticized this strategy in an interview on Bloomberg Radio, saying "Kamala should have been in a diner having a cup of coffee, an apple pie with a couple of the guys instead of Oprah and Beyoncé." ==Platform==

Harris framed her campaign as "a choice between freedom and chaos" and based it around the ideals of "freedom" and "the future". The Harris campaign sought to highlight her experience as an attorney general and a prosecutor to "prosecute the case" against Trump by pointing out his 34 felony convictions. Harris ran as a moderate Democrat and moderated several of her policy positions since her 2019 run, with many of her domestic policy stances resembling Biden's. While the tone of the Harris campaign was initially optimistic and joyful, it shifted into bleaker territory in the last month of the election, with Harris accusing Trump of fascism. Another aspect of Harris's campaign messaging in July focused on branding Republicans, Trump, and vice presidential nominee JD Vance as "weird" on multiple occasions. Such comments originated with Tim Walz, whom Harris later selected as her running mate, Harris, and others in the Democratic party. This and the messaging shift towards "freedom" were initial departures from Biden's electoral arguments, which revolved around protecting democracy. Harris was declared the winner of the debate by many political analysts. Some analysts noted that for Harris, this was the "best debate performance of her career," in which she highlighted her strengths and rattled former president Trump. In March 2024, Harris became the first sitting vice president to visit an abortion clinic, and she told Politico in July 2024 that "we need to put into law the protections of Roe". Bipartisanship Harris stated she would appoint a Republican to her potential Cabinet. Cannabis Harris has publicly stated support for full federal cannabis legalization, and removing it entirely from the Controlled Substances Act. Harris-Walz was the first major party presidential ticket to do so. Harris repeated this after becoming the Democratic nominee. Civil rights Harris previously supported the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Climate change and energy Harris is an advocate for environmental justice to address the impact of climate change on lower-income areas and people of color. Under Biden, she supported his climate legislation. putting the US on track to meet emissions reduction targets by 50–52% below 2005 levels by 2030. Harris's campaign has stated that she does not support a ban on fracking. Economy District Council7 in Big Bend, Wisconsin, in January 2024. Harris has described herself as a pro-business, pragmatic capitalist and invoked Franklin Roosevelt in describing her economic philosophy. Harris's economic agenda had been described by some as initially populist, with a few policy proposals that departed from Biden's. Harris's proposals included plans to eliminate medical debts, combatting price gouging for groceries and food, a cap on prescription drug costs, and up to $25,000 in tax credit subsidies for first-time homebuyers. Harris proposed to eliminate taxes on tips and create a $6,000 child tax credit for the first year of a child's life, proposals that follow similar suggestions from her presidential competitors Trump and Vance, respectively. Harris has opposed Trump's proposed 20% tax on imports. Harris has spoken in support of the middle class and labor unions. Harris has stated she supports increasing the top tier capital gains tax rate to 28%, up from 20% and lower than Biden's proposed 39.6%. Harris has stated her support for a Billionaire Minimum Income Tax, increasing the tax on stock buybacks to 4%, and a ten-fold tax reduction for small business ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 in relief. Harris has stated she supports efforts to create a tax on unrealized gains for those with more than a $100 million in net worth if they do not pay a minimum 25% tax rate on their income inclusive of unrealized gains so long as 80% of said wealth is in tradeable assets. The plan would impact a small percentage of America's wealthy, and Axios reported most tech founders and investors would be spared. Harris has also announced support for restoring the corporate tax rate to 28% among several other tax proposals to raise taxes and close loopholes for corporations and the wealthy that would bring in $5 trillion in additional revenue over 10 years. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has estimated that Harris's policy proposals would increase the federal deficit by $1.7 trillion over a decade. The New York Times reports that Harris's tax proposals have largely tracked Biden's, and in total add less debt burden than Trump's plans which are estimated to add $4 trillion to the debt after taxes. Prior to her nomination, Harris promoted the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, funding for small business, and supported an act as senator to provide a $6,000 tax credit for middle and low-income families. As vice president, Harris oversaw the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. Harris has stated that she owns a "Glock" handgun, a model of handgun which is restricted under California law. Healthcare Harris has supported efforts to strengthen coverage under the Affordable Care Act, Harris has been a proponent of White House efforts to ban medical debt from credit reports. Harris stated she no longer supported a single-payer healthcare system. Her proposed housing policies are among the first to bring YIMBY ideas to the national political mainstream. Immigration Harris promised to fight for "strong border security" coupled with an earned pathway to citizenship. Following an August 2024 interview, Harris was described by immigration activists as positioning herself to be "tougher on immigration than Trump." Harris has highlighted her work in combating transnational gangs, drug cartels, and human traffickers while attorney general. In 2023, as vice president, Harris announced pledges of US$950 million from private companies to support Central American communities to address the causes of mass migration, such as poverty. Harris criticized Trump for his opposition to the bill on the campaign trail, Harris stated she believes the immigration system is "broken" and needs to be fixed, and that she thinks most Americans also believe this. Furthermore, Harris also pledged to crack down on fentanyl. Her campaign video introduced on July 30, 2024, says, "Kamala Harris supports increasing the number of Border Patrol agents" and paints Trump as unserious on border security. LGBTQ rights Harris is a strong supporter of LGBTQ rights. In 2022, Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act, which requires states to recognize same-sex marriages and interracial marriages in case the Supreme Court overturned marriage equality. At the signing ceremony, Harris and others gave speeches, and Biden presented Harris with a pen as recognition of years of work for marriage equality. In 2023, Harris visited the Stonewall Inn and denounced legislative attacks on transgender rights in states across the country. In July 2024, Harris conducted a fundraiser in the LGBTQ hotspot of Provincetown, Massachusetts. Minimum wage Harris supports raising the federal minimum wage. Harris did not give a number for a federal minimum wage she supported. She has posted on Twitter praising that some states have raised the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour. Social services Harris has supported the expanded child tax credit enacted in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Supreme Court Harris has supported Biden's call for term limits for Supreme Court justices and a constitutional amendment to reverse its decision in Trump v. United States (2024). Foreign policy China During the 2020 vice presidential debate, Harris criticized former President Donald Trump's imposition of tariffs on Chinese imports, accusing Republicans of losing the trade war with China and losing hundreds of thousands of jobs as a result. Harris is expected to continue deepening American alliances in Asia and the Pacific with the intention of curbing China's rising power both economically and militarily. Harris has previously spoken out against human rights abuses in Hong Kong and co-sponsored the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act and Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act. As a senator, she condemned the persecution of Uyghur and minority women in western China and sponsored Marco Rubio's sanctions punishing human rights abuses in the region, and during the 2019 debates also criticized China for stealing "our products, including our intellectual property" and for dumping "substandard products into our economy". In 2023, Harris entertained Modi at a state dinner and discussed her visiting her grandparents in Madras when she was growing up, the impact India has had on the world and their cooperation on topics like climate change, cybercrime and vaccine production. Iran Harris was critical of Iran during her presidential campaign, referring to it as a "destablizing force". Israel and Palestine Harris is seen by some as more sympathetic to Palestinians than Biden, who has described himself as a Zionist and has a long history with Israeli leaders. Following the October 7 attacks, Harris strongly supported Israel's actions in the Gaza war, Former Biden administration officials said in an interview with Politico that Harris was less committed to the Israel policy and that one official was "cautiously optimistic" she would change it. After the speech, she condemned pro-Palestine protestors, pro-Hamas graffiti, and the burning of an American flag at Union Station. The next day, after she met with Netanyahu, she said, "Israel has a right to defend itself, and how it does so matters." She continued that Israel must agree to a ceasefire and hostage deal and work towards a two-state solution, emphasizing Palestinian suffering. Before the rally, Harris had interacted with the co-founders of the Uncommitted National Movement, hearing stories from family members about the war. Harris reportedly agreed to meet with the activists, and was described by them as "sympathetic". However, Harris's national security advisor said that she did not support an arms embargo. Throughout August, Harris and her campaign met with Arab-American and Uncommitted leaders in metro Detroit, including Dearborn mayor Abdullah Hammoud. However, in a CNN interview, Harris denied that she would shift policy from Biden and said that she would not end arms to Israel. In September, the Uncommitted National Movement said it would not endorse Harris for president because of her "unwillingness to shift on unconditional weapons policy or to even make a clear statement in support of upholding existing US and international human rights law". By October, the movement encouraged its members to vote for Harris, arguing a second Trump presidency would be much worse for Palestinians. NATO and Ukraine . Harris was expected and has signaled to generally follow Biden's foreign policy on NATO and Ukraine, supporting both in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Military During her speech at the DNC, Harris said, "I will ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world". Trade While Harris described herself as "not a protectionist Democrat" during a 2019 primary debate, she has been critical of past free trade deals, stating she would have voted against the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) of 1992 and the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) of 2016; in 2020, she voted against the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA). However, trade has never been a major focus for Harris; as such, her positions are not entirely known. The Center for Strategic and International Studies notes that she has said so little about trade that most analysts have to dig up these old votes and statements and assume that she will continue Biden's policies: for instance, President Biden has maintained most of Trump's tariffs on China and increased some of them, and so likely won't make significant changes. The CATO Institute in 2020 noted that while Harris does not seem to be an economic nationalist, her terms of engagement are a bit unclear other than that she wants more labor and environmental protections. ==Endorsements==

The Democratic Party quickly coalesced around Harris following Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race and his endorsement of Harris as his replacement. The vast majority of congressional Democrats endorsed Harris, including senior officials such as Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and former Speaker and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. Additionally, all Democratic governors have endorsed Harris. On July 21, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton endorsed Harris. On July 26, former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama endorsed Harris in a joint statement. On August 3, Jimmy Carter, the oldest surviving Democratic former president, endorsed Harris. Some disaffected Republicans, including staunch critics of former President Donald Trump, such as former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, former House Representative Liz Cheney, and former federal executive officials Alberto Gonzales and Stephanie Grisham have also come forward to endorse Harris. On September 10, 2024, American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift endorsed Harris for president in a highly publicized Instagram post, following the first debate between Harris and Trump. Swift, explained her support for Harris and running mate Tim Walz, signing off as "Childless Cat Lady," a reference to comments made by Trump's running mate, JD Vance, about women without children. Meanwhile, Trump's campaign criticized the endorsement, arguing that it reflected the Democratic Party's alignment with "wealthy elites". That same month, Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell also endorsed Harris for president. On October 3, 2024, Bruce Springsteen formally endorsed Harris for president describing the election as "one of the most consequential elections in our nation’s history" and calling Trump "the most dangerous candidate for president in my lifetime". In October 2024, Puerto Rican musicians Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez, Luis Fonsi, Ricky Martin, and Don Omar endorsed Harris after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe joked about Puerto Rico being an "island of garbage" during the Trump rally at Madison Square Garden. On October 31, 2024, LeBron James endorsed Harris for president. On November 2, 2024, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced his preference for Harris declaring that "if Kamala wins the election, it is much safer to strengthen democracy in the US". == Pro-Palestinian criticism ==

before Harris' October 29, 2024, campaign speech on the Ellipse The Harris campaign was opposed by some Arab Americans who expressed frustration with her stance on the Gaza war and 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. According to the Financial Times, Israel's wars "threatened to shatter" the advantage the Democratic Party once held amongst Arab Americans in Michigan. An October 2024 poll by the Arab American Institute showing Arab American support tied between Harris and Trump. The "Abandon Harris" movement, which encouraged Harris to change her position on Gaza, endorsed Jill Stein for president in October 2024. The Uncommitted National Movement and Arab American Political Action Committee both declined to endorse a candidate. U.S. House Representative Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress, declined to endorse Harris for president. A group of approximately 50 African-American Muslim community leaders signed an open-letter urging voters not to vote for Harris and instead vote for a candidate who supported both a ceasefire in Gaza and an arms embargo on Israel. In the final weeks of the presidential campaign, the Harris campaign featured several controversial surrogates speaking on the topic of Gaza. In Michigan, the Harris campaign enlisted U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres, who emphasized that Harris' team had rejected a Palestinian-American speaker at the Democratic National Convention because she didn't want any speakers opposing Israel. Also in Michigan, former-U.S. president Bill Clinton caused a backlash by criticizing Arab and Muslim Americans hesitant to support Harris, stating Israel had been "forced" to kill civilians. His comments led the Institute for Middle East Understanding to state, "Bill Clinton's racist and ahistorical remarks were meant to justify the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their land. The Harris campaign is doing itself no favors attaching itself to that kind of hateful rhetoric". Harris ultimately won fewer votes than Trump in Dearborn, Michigan, which has been nicknamed the "capital of Arab America" and has one of the highest Arab-American concentrations in the United States. Biden had won the city in the 2020 United States presidential election by a substantial margin. The Detroit News cited disagreement with Biden's foreign policy towards Israel and economic frustrations as some of the reasons for Harris' loss. The Times of Israel described the level of support towards Trump within Dearborn as "unimaginable" four years prior. ==Polling==

From August 2024 until the election, Harris generally held a narrow lead in the national popular vote while being statistically tied in the various swing states. In addition, her favorability ratings significantly increased among Democrats and independents in polling following her campaign launch. Nationally, Harris ran consistently behind Clinton and Biden, faring similarly in swing states. At first, Harris began outrunning Trump nationally and in swing states, hitting far better marks than Biden for 2024. However, three weeks out, Harris began slipping, with many swing states becoming dead heat races. == Outcome ==

The Harris-Walz ticket ultimately lost to the Trump-Vance ticket in the general election on November 5, with Harris conceding in a phone call to Trump and a public address the following day. Trump won the critical swing states of North Carolina, Georgia, Nevada, and Arizona, as well as the "blue wall" states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. The candidates were virtually tied in polling in these critical states and visited them repeatedly before the election. Harris became the first Democratic presidential contender to have lost both the electoral college vote and the national popular vote since John Kerry in 2004 against Republican then-President George W. Bush. == Notes ==