The Harris presidential campaign focuses on red, rural areas to lessen Trump's leads in these territories.
"We need to rally up people, obviously, in strong Democratic areas, but we also need to sway a lot of undecided folks," stated Dan Kanninen, the battleground states director for Harris' campaign to CNN."Narrowing down margins wherever possible, in areas that Trump won by substantial margins, but if we can reduce it to 60-40 or even 65-35, that makes a significant impact across various counties in a state."
A significant part of the campaign's groundwork includes a more prominent presence in counties with fewer Democratic supporters and potentially disgruntled Republican voters.
In the upcoming days, the campaign plans to hold events intended to attract disillusioned voters swayed by Trump, such as in critical states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.
Harris campaign officials have frequently bragged about securing Republican endorsements and support, including this week's appearance alongside ex-Rep. Liz Cheney in Ripon, Wyoming - the Republican Party's birthplace, a place that voted for Trump in 2020, with a margin of 62%-36%.
Harris campaign officials believe that their strong campaign infrastructure, including establishing multiple field offices and campaign visits by the vice president and Tim Walz, among others, can help bridge the gap between Harris and Trump, particularly in battleground states.
"We have 16 offices in counties that Trump won by huge majorities because we're not overlooking any place," Brendan McPhillips, senior Harris campaign adviser for Pennsylvania, told CNN."Winning five extra votes in a county that Trump won by huge margins is similar to winning five votes in Philadelphia, but you need to go everywhere to get them, and it matters to people that you visit their communities and engage in open dialogue."
Areas like Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, with only a 20% showing for Gov. Nikki Haley in the Republican primary, despite not being in the 2024 race, represent potential opportunities for the Harris campaign to secure Republican voters disenchanted with Trump.
Harris might not appeal to all Haley voters, but capturing doubt over Trump in some of these counties and attracting even a fraction of those votes could significantly impact the margins, according to Sam Chen, a Republican strategist.
"This is a smart move, but it's a risky move if they dislike Harris and if it accidentally drives them to Trump," Chen said."This is where having a clear message is crucial."
Walz, who has previously campaigned in Lancaster County, embarked on a bus tour of central Pennsylvania following the vice presidential debate this week. Previously, Harris had returned to Cambria and Luzerne Counties, both of which Trump won by significant margins in 2020.
Democratic strategists emphasize Walz's rural background, military experience, and experience as a football coach, positioning him as highly relatable in rural communities across the country.
The campaign is also airing ads aimed at rural battleground voters, including one featuring lifelong Republicans voicing their support for Harris and another featuring a farmer from Wisconsin discussing healthcare issues.
Harris' advisors cite previous successful Democratic campaigns, such as Sen. John Fetterman's 2022 race in Pennsylvania and Sen. Raphael Warnock's runoff in Georgia, as proof of the strategy's effectiveness.
In late August, Harris traveled through southeast Georgia, a region typically supporting the Republican party but where Warnock had seen success. At the time, Harris' deputy campaign manager, Quentin Fulks, who managed Warnock's campaign, maintained that Harris, like Warnock, has an advantage in appealing to a broader spectrum of voters, including rural voters, heading into November, with Trump as her opponent and anticipated higher turnout in a presidential election year.
Facing the challenge of winning over undecided voters and narrowing margins in Republican-leaning areas, the politics of engagement for the Harris campaign involve holding events to attract disillusioned voters in critical states and establishing a strong presence in counties that may have voted heavily for Trump in the past.
Leaning into this strategy, Harris campaign officials believe that appealing to disgruntled Republican voters in traditionally Republican areas, like Lancaster County in Pennsylvania, could notably impact the race's margins.
