Former President Barack Obama will soon begin campaigning for Vice President Kamala Harris. He is set to embark on a blitz across the battleground states, with several events in the last month before Election Day.
The former president will kick off his campaign efforts next Thursday, Oct. 10, in the Pittsburgh area. It’s unclear if Harris will appear with him.
Obama has been a staunch supporter of Harris since she joined the top of the Democratic ticket, officially endorsing her just days after President Biden exited the race. Obama vowed to do anything he could to help Harris defeat former President Donald Trump.
“Kamala Harris won’t be focused on her problems, she’ll be focused on yours,” Obama said in an address at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August. “A president, she won’t just cater to her own supporters and punish those who refuse to kiss the ring or bend the knee. She’ll work on behalf of every American. That’s who Kamala is.”
Harris and Obama have yet to appear together this cycle, and while it is not yet known if they will before Election Day, their relationship stems back to when the former president was seeking a Senate seat in Illinois. Harris also campaigned for Obama during his 2008 presidential run.
Obama’s first campaign event will take place in one of the most contested battleground states. In 2020, President Biden won the Keystone state by less than 81,000 votes, flipping a state that Trump won in 2020.
Harris herself has visited Pennsylvania more than 13 times in 2024, and seven times since launching her presidential bid. Surrogates like her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, have also campaigned in Pennsylvania.
The latest CBS News polling shows the presidential race remains a tight contest, with Harris up four points nationally over Trump, 52% to 48% among likely voters, and with a slight edge of 51% to 49% in the battleground states.
Nidia Cavazos is a 2024 campaign reporter for CBS News.
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