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Election 2024
Deepa Shivaram, NPR

Harris hits the campaign trail in North Carolina as Biden isolates for COVID-19

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U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris makes remarks before a moderated conversation with former Trump administration national security official Olivia Troye and former Republican voter Amanda Stratton on July 17, 2024 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris makes remarks before a moderated conversation with former Trump administration national security official Olivia Troye and former Republican voter Amanda Stratton on Wednesday in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Chris duMond via Getty Images

Vice President Harris is at the forefront of the Biden campaign’s efforts to counter-program the Republican convention today, with President Biden isolating at home for COVID.

And given the open questions about whether Biden should stay at the top of the Democratic ticket, Harris’ speech — in a state that Democrats had hoped they could turn blue this fall — is likely to draw more attention than it otherwise might.

To be clear, Biden and his campaign are saying that he is not going anywhere. But some Democrats have said Harris would be the obvious pick for the party if Biden were to drop out of the race.

“Our campaign is not working through any scenarios where President Biden is not the top of the ticket. He is and will be the Democratic nominee,” deputy campaign chair Quentin Fulks told reporters in Milwaukee today, slightly exasperated at the line of questioning.

The campaign is working hard to try to draw a contrast between Biden’s policies and the proposals of former President Donald Trump, and his running mate Sen. JD Vance — particularly on the issue of reproductive rights.

Yesterday, Harris committed to another potential date for a debate with Vance, though the Trump campaign has said the internal debate within the Democratic Party about Biden’s fate has put the vice presidential debate in question too.

“We can’t lock in a date before their convention. To do so would be unfair to Gavin Newsom, JB Pritzker, Gretchen Whitmer, or whoever Kamala Harris picks as her running mate,” Trump campaign adviser Brian Hughes said in a statement.

The governors of California, Illinois and Michigan are frequently cited as potential future Democratic candidates. And there has been some speculation that North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper could be a running mate if Harris were at the top of the ticket.

This reporting originally appeared as part of the NPR Network's live coverage of the RNC.

Copyright 2024, NPR