LAS VEGAS (AP) 鈥� Big crowds, go-to applause lines, talk of joy 鈥� and some unsolicited Republican counterprogramming.
These were common themes during the first big campaign swing for and her running mate, as the new Democratic ticket barnstormed through five battleground states this past week on a get-to-know-us tour.
They opened with a boisterous rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday, hours after Harris announced Walz as her running mate. From there it was a march through Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada. Planned stops in Georgia and North Carolina were washed out by
The tour was a way to help both candidates introduce themselves to voters, especially independent and undecided voters in states where the Democrats are in tight races against and his running mate, .
It was also a way for Harris and Walz to get to know each other better.
A look back at the campaign swing:
Size matters
Thousands of people have been flocking to Harris鈥� campaign rallies, a sign that her groundbreaking candidacy has generated new momentum among Democrats who were unenthused about . Harris is the first Black woman and first person of Asian descent to become a major political party鈥檚 nominee for president.
By the campaign's count, 12,000 people turned out for rallies in Philadelphia and Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It was 15,000 in the Detroit area and in Glendale, Arizona. In Las Vegas on Saturday, more than 12,000 people were inside a university arena when authorities halted admissions because people were becoming ill waiting outside in 109-degree heat to go through security. About 4,000 people were still in line when the entrances closed, the campaign said.
To Lance Jones, a Tucson native who attended the Arizona rally, it felt like 鈥渢he tables have turned with Harris and Walz.鈥� He predicted his state "is going from basically red to purple to blue.鈥�
Those crowd numbers annoyed Trump, who regularly attracts thousands to his own rallies.
鈥淥h, give me a break,鈥� he said at a news conference when asked about Harris. 鈥淣obody鈥檚 had crowds like I have.鈥�
Republican counterprogramming
The Republican ticket didn't just weigh in from afar, Vance tried to shadow his Democratic rivals during the opening days of their tour. He made appearances in Philadelphia and Detroit hours before the Democrats arrived in those cities.
But after Harris and Vance landed around the same time in Eau Claire on Wednesday, the Republican stepped off his plane and walked toward Air Force Two.
Vance later joked about the in-your-face move, saying he had a 鈥渂it of fun鈥� while trying to 鈥渃heck out my future plane.鈥� Air Force Two would become his primary mode of travel if he and Trump are elected in November.
The stump speeches
Harris and Walz delivered basically the same speeches 鈥� heavy on personal biography 鈥� from one rally to the next, with some tweaks to tailor their remarks to the particular audience and state.
Harris added lines about fighting for working people and the upside of organized labor to her remarks in Michigan. where migration is a big concern, she drew on her prosecutorial background to tell the crowd she had gone after transnational gangs, drug cartels and smugglers when she was California鈥檚 attorney general.
鈥淚 prosecuted them in case after case, and I won,鈥� Harris said.
where the economy is heavily dependent on the hospitality industry, she promised to work to eliminate federal taxes on tips for restaurant and other service industry employees. Trump, who floated the same idea several months ago, posted on social media that she was a "copycat.鈥�
Harris closed her rallies by asking people what kind of country they want to live in, before calling them to action and declaring, 鈥淲hen we fight, we win.鈥�
Walz, largely unknown outside the Midwest, went deep on his personal story of serving in the Army National Guard and his years as a high school teacher and football coach, as a member of Congress and governor. In a campaign partly centered on restoring reproductive rights, he shares that he and his wife, Gwen, suffered through years of in vitro fertilization treatments before their daughter, Hope, was born.
Go-to applause lines
Each candidate has lines that rev up the crowd
鈥� 鈥淗ear me when I say, I know Donald Trump鈥檚 type,鈥� says Harris, describing the kinds of people she went after as a prosecutor.
鈥� 鈥淓ven if we wouldn鈥檛 make the same choice for ourselves, there鈥檚 a golden rule: Mind your own damn business,鈥� says Walz, explaining what he said was the Midwest approach to private, personal decisions such as whether to have an abortion.
鈥� 鈥淲e'll sleep when we're dead,鈥� says Walz, urging audiences to give it their all for however many days are left in the campaign.
New buzzwords: 鈥榡oy鈥� and 鈥榳eird鈥�
Walz introduced both words to the campaign. Even before he joined the Democratic ticket, his description of Trump and Vance and their policies as 鈥渨eird鈥� caught on. Harris herself used the description a few times.
As Walz says, 鈥淣o one鈥檚 asking for that weird crap."
Walz also credits Harris with 鈥渂ringing back the joy鈥� to politics, and Harris herself described the Democratic ticket as
鈥楲ock him up鈥�
At several stops, the crowd started chanting 鈥渓ock him up鈥� aimed at Trump, an echo of the chants that Trump's campaign audiences directed at Democrat Hillary Clinton during the 2016 race.
Harris has a ready comeback to move things along. 鈥淗old on. Let the courts take care of that. We鈥檙e going to beat him in November," she says.
Likewise, she had a ready rejoinder for disruptions from protesters upset that the administration isn't doing more to protect Palestinians during Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza.
As she told them in Arizona, "I respect your voices but we are here to now talk about this race in 2024.鈥�
Who鈥檚 counting?
At each stop, Walz reminded people of the countdown to Election Day, Nov. 5.
By Friday in Phoenix, it must have seemed a blur: He was off by a day when he set the countdown at 87, instead of 88 days.
He isn't the only one counting.
A troop of Girl Scouts greeted the vice president at the airport in Wisconsin on Wednesday, 90 days out from the election. Snippets of their conversation overheard by reporters suggested they may have been chatting about summer plans.
Harris was heard replying, 鈥淚鈥檓 planning on going somewhere in 90 days.鈥�
Bonus stop
Harris had one last stop on Sunday 鈥� San Francisco 鈥� before returning to Washington. This one was all about collecting campaign cash for the fight ahead.
House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., joined Harris for the event, which the campaign said raised more than $12 million.
Pelosi spoke of wanting 鈥渄emocracy to win an Olympic gold鈥� on Election Day. And Harris, to cheers after saying 鈥渨e will win this election,鈥� told supporters, 鈥淲e do not have a day to waste.鈥�
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Associated Press writer Gabriel Sandoval in Glendale, Arizona, contributed to this report.
Darlene Superville, The Associated Press
