October 3, 2024, presidential campaign news

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Kamala Harris speaks alongside Liz Cheney, left, during a campaign event at Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin, on October 3.

Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday applauded striking members of the International Longshoremen’s Association and the management group representing shipping lines, terminal operators and port authorities for reaching a tentative deal on wages.

The agreement allows members to resume work at the ports on Friday, the union announced Thursday evening. A tentative deal would still need to be ratified by the rank-and-file ILA members before it would take effect.

A prolonged economic stoppage would have almost certainly caused higher prices and potential supply chain back-ups weeks before Election Day.

“This step indicates progress toward a strong contract and represents the power of collective bargaining. As I have said, this is about fairness – and our economy works best when workers share in record profits. Dockworkers deserve a fair share for their hard work getting essential goods out to communities across America,” Harris added in the statement.

Democratic US Sen. Bob Casey and his GOP opponent Dave McCormick met on Thursday night for their first debate in the Pennsylvania US Senate race. The showdown touched on immigration, abortion, the economy and energy, among other issues.

The roughly hourlong debate grew slightly tense over McCormick’s time as CEO of a hedge fund, his ties to China and reports about McCormick’s residency.

McCormick slammed Casey as a “career politician” and said this “is not the Bob Casey you elected for office 30 years ago,” while trying to make the case that he’s not going to always fall in line with former President Donald Trump.

Casey later went after McCormick with an Associated Press report that the former businessman was living in Connecticut, and he accused McCormick of lying about living in Pennsylvania.

“We’ve heard a couple of times tonight about telling lies. But probably the biggest lie told in this whole election — that probably most Pennsylvanians have never heard a bigger lie — was the lie when my opponent said he lived in Pennsylvania, when he was living in Connecticut,” Casey said.

McCormick defended himself, saying that he’s spent the “majority of my life” in Pennsylvania.

More than one million ballots have been cast as of Thursday across 30 states for which data is available, with 33 days until Election Day.

That’s according to data from election officials, Edison Research and Catalist, a company that provides data, analytics and other services to Democrats, academics and nonprofit advocacy groups, including insights into who is voting before November.

Visit CNN’s voter handbook to learn about voting guidelines where you are.

More on the figures: These ballots are still less than one percent of the roughly 158 million votes cast for president in the 2020 election.

Virginia has reported, by far, the most ballots cast as of Thursday, at more than 386,000.

More than 100,000 ballots have been cast in three more states: New Jersey, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Maryland, at just under 96,000, is just behind.

Fresh off his vice presidential debate, Tim Walz arrived Wednesday evening at a Puerto Rican-owned restaurant here in southeast Pennsylvania to speak with Latino voters.

“This thing’s gonna come down to our ‘blue wall’ states, come down to Pennsylvania,” the Minnesota governor said at Mofongo Restaurant as diners sipped on colorful drinks.

“Might come right through this restaurant,” he added.

At the same time, just blocks away, a campaign office for Donald Trump hummed with activity, as Latino supporters of the former president worked the phones in English and Spanish.

Marcia Heras, an immigrant from Ecuador, drove the hour from Allentown to make calls.

“Familia, la vida y fin de la guerra,” Heras told CNN were the longtime conservative’s reasons for supporting Trump: family, life, and the ending of war.

This snapshot of dueling outreach efforts on a rainy weeknight provides a small glimpse into how crucial the Latino vote is to the Trump and Kamala Harris campaigns in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state where the past two presidential elections have been decided by a single point.

Keep reading here about this key demographic in Pennsylvania.

Kamala Harris, left, is greeted by Liz Cheney, during a campaign event at Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin, on October 3.

Vice President Kamala Harris thanked Liz Cheney for her support as the former Republican congresswoman appeared on the campaign trail with her for the first time after announcing that she will cast her presidential vote for Harris this year.

The vice president also praised Cheney, who lost her congressional seat after standing against former President Donald Trump in the wake of the January 6 riots, for her “leadership and courage.”

Harris said Cheney not only “recognizes that character is among the most important attributes of leadership, but she also personifies that attribute, and she possesses some of the qualities of character that I most respect in any individual and any leader, courage, especially at a moment like this, where there are so many powerful forces that have been intent on trying to demean and belittle and make people afraid.”

She acknowledged Cheney’s “conviction to speak truth,” even when it is “difficult to do in an environment such as this,” adding, “Liz Cheney really is a leader who puts country above party and above self, a true patriot, and it is my profound honor, my profound honor, to have your support.”

Harris also thanked Cheney’s father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, who announced last month he would also be casting his vote for Harris, saying, “every endorsement matters, and this endorsement matters a great deal.”

She said Liz Cheney’s endorsement carries “special significance” because though, “we may not see eye to eye on every issue, and we are going to get back to a healthy two party system, I am sure of that, where we will have vigorous debates.”

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is targeting red and rural counties in the final sprint to Election Day, according to campaign aides, with her appearance in Ripon, Wisconsin, on Thursday just part of a strategy to compete everywhere and narrow Donald Trump’s margins in those counties.

Part of the campaign’s organizing on the ground includes having a greater presence in counties where there may be fewer Democrats and more disaffected Republican voters.

In the coming days, the campaign plans to host events meant to appeal to voters disenchanted with Trump, including in the critical states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina and Wisconsin.

Harris campaign officials have frequently touted Republican endorsements and support, including this week, when the vice president appeared with former Rep. Liz Cheney, marking their first joint appearance since the Wyoming Republican announced she’d vote for Harris.

But where they chose to appear together perhaps carried more weight — Ripon, the birthplace of the Republican Party. Fond du Lac County, which includes Ripon, voted for Trump in 2020, 62%-36%.

Kamala Harris, right, and Liz Cheney, greet attendees during a campaign event at Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin, on October 3.

President Joe Biden praised former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney’s speech at a Thursday campaign event backing Vice President Kamala Harris, saying Cheney’s endorsement of the Democratic presidential nominee shows character.

Biden said the former Wyoming congresswoman and her father — former Vice President Dick Cheney, who has also said he will vote for Harris — have “character.”

“Character, damn it, is what we need in this country. Character. And there’s not enough of it in terms of how we conduct our politics.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday made his pitch to Muslim voters, reiterating his calls for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and emphasizing “it must end now” amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.

“We all know on here, this war must end, and it must end now. The Vice President is working every day to ensure that to make sure Israel’s secure, the hostages are home, the suffering in Gaza ends now, and the Palestinian people realize the right to dignity, freedom, and self-determination,” he continued.

During his remarks, Walz condemned Islamophobia and “anti-Arab hate in the country, telling attendees on the virtual call: “We cannot allow tragedies like these to continue, and they must be condemned.”

More context: Walz’s appearance at the summit was an effort to appeal to the key demographic as Harris works to win back Arab and Muslim American supporters who may be dissatisfied with her party’s unwavering support for Israel. The Minnesota governor also contrasted the Harris-Walz ticket with former President Donald Trump.

“Donald Trump has made it clear where he stands with his anti-Muslim bigotry, with his threats to a Muslim ban,” Walz said.

Republican former Rep. Liz Cheney asked voters to “reject the depraved cruelty” of Donald Trump and back Vice President Kamala Harris in November’s election.

Cheney officially endorsed Harris at a rally at Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin, where she said the Republican Party was founded, and talked about the history of the party and her lifelong ties to the GOP through her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney.

“In other words, I was a Republican even before Donald Trump started spray tanning,” Cheney sniped.

She then strongly criticized the former president for actions she characterized as undermining American democracy, citing in detail his actions leading up to and during the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6th, 2021.

Cheney also cited evidence of Trump’s actions uncovered by the House Select Committee on the January 6th attack, which she co-chaired, and also referenced new details revealed in the lengthy filing submitted on Wednesday by special counsel Jack Smith in the federal investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Cheney accused Trump of “being willing to… violate the law and the Constitution” to remain president, which she lambasted as “depravity.”

Cheney also noted the impact Harris’ election could have on young girls, and frequently alluded the potential for Harris to make history as the first female US president.

Cheney referenced a quote from former President John Adams, who wrote upon ascending to the presidency “may none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.”

“I am confident that John Adams meant women, too,” she said.

WATCH Cheney’s full remarks

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Liz Cheney slams Trump while endorsing Kamala Harris in key swing state

18:16 - Source: CNN

Bruce Springsteen at the Roy Thomson theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on September 8.

Music superstar Bruce Springsteen is throwing his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, in the presidential race.

In a video posted to his official Instagram on Thursday, Springsteen said he is supporting Harris in the 2024 contest, calling it “one of the most consequential elections in our nation’s history.”

Other big names in the music world who have publicly endorsed Harris include Taylor Swift, Carole King and Chappell Roan.

Springsteen, a Democratic Party donor who lent his voice to an advertisement for Joe Biden’s campaign in 2020, has been critical in the past of former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee. In 2017, he was featured in a protest anthem from Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers called, “That’s What Makes Us Great.” He also co-hosted a podcast with former President Barack Obama.

“Perhaps not since the Civil War has this great country felt as politically, spiritually and emotionally divided as it does than at this moment,” Springsteen said in his endorsement video, adding that “it doesn’t have to be this way.”

“The common values and the shared stories that make us a great and united nation are waiting to be rediscovered and retold once again.”

GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance is encouraging Republicans to vote early and by mail, despite his running mate sowing skepticism about those voting methods.

Vance said that, with hard work, he believes Republicans can win all seven battleground states.

The Ohio senator said the Trump campaign feels confident in the Sun Belt states, but they’ve got “a lot of work to do” in the Rust Belt. “We’re sort of really making a play for Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania. I’m just in those three states all the time,” Vance said.

Some context: While former President Donald Trump and his campaign have encouraged voters to use mail-in ballots and early voting options, Trump recently told Dr. Phil that he believes mail-in ballots “shouldn’t be allowed,” and said Republicans must gain control and change the rules to same-day voting.

In September, Trump also claimed that an “election expert” interviewed by right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson had suggested a large percentage of mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania are fraudulent. That claim was shown to have no valid basis in a fact check by CNN’s Daniel Dale.

Liz Cheney, speaks at a campaign event for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin, on October 3.

Former President Donald Trump on Thursday bashed former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney as she campaigns with Vice President Kamala Harris in Wisconsin.

“Well, Liz Cheney lost for Congress. She was terrible,” Trump told Fox News.

“I think frankly if Kamala – I think they hurt each other. I think they are so bad, both of them,” he added.

More background: Cheney’s opposition to Trump and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election – including her vote to impeach him – led the House GOP to oust her as conference chair and replace her with a top Trump ally, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik.

Cheney went on to serve as vice chair of the House select committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol. She ultimately lost her seat in Congress in a 2022 primary to a Trump-backed challenger.

Cheney previously told CNN she was committed to doing what was necessary to stop Trump from returning to the White House.

US Senator and Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance speaks during the Vice Presidential debate with Minnesota Governor and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, hosted by CBS News in New York City, on October 1.

Ohio Sen. JD Vance says his strategy in the vice presidential debate Tuesday night was to focus on Vice President Kamala Harris, rather than Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who he was facing onstage.

In an appearance on the conservative Ruthless Podcast, which was recorded yesterday in Michigan, Vance invoked the old Sun Tzu quote, “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake,” suggesting Walz got in his own way during the debate.

“He buried himself,” Vance said of his opponent, adding, “I was just like, ‘Shut up. Do not say a damn thing, JD. Silence,’”

Vance said he and former President Donald Trump had decided before the debate that it wouldn’t be as effective to attack Walz as it would be to go after Harris.

Vance said while “everybody has an opinion” about Trump and President Joe Biden, “People really don’t know Kamala Harris.”

“Why not use this as an opportunity to get the word out about who Kamala Harris really is?”

Vance said he understood the debate opportunity as an appeal to undecided voters and tried to use that to his advantage when Walz made his own appeals to the middle.

Some background: In the weeks ahead of the debate on the campaign trail, Vance had been forecasting this debate strategy. While he hit Walz hard after he was first chosen as Harris’ running mate, Vance rarely mentioned Walz unless prompted at his events, and his stump speech focused on attacking Harris.

More than 43 million viewers watched the debate on TV Tuesday night, according to Nielsen estimates, which was significantly less than 2020 viewership.

Former President Donald Trump said Thursday in an interview that he spoke with former first lady Melania Trump about her including her support of abortion rights in her forthcoming memoir and that he told her to “write what you believe.”

Trump said, “She is very beloved. People love our former first lady. I can tell you that. But I said you have to stick with your heart. I’ve said that to everybody, you have to go with your heart. There are some people very, very far right on the issue, meaning without exceptions, and then there are other people that view it a little bit differently than that.”

The Guardian reported excerpts from the former first lady’s book that is set to publish next week that in which she says she supports abortion rights “free from any intervention or pressure from the government,” which puts her at odds with Trump on the issue roughly a month from Election Day.

Melania Trump then posted a new video Thursday confirming her support and said she believes there is “no room for compromise” when it comes to a woman’s “individual freedom.”

Republican former Rep. Liz Cheney is campaigning with Vice President Kamala Harris in Wisconsin on Thursday, where she touted her endorsement of the Democratic presidential nominee in the crucial battleground state.

The hundreds gathered at Ripon College reacted with applause and by chanting “Thank you, Liz.”

Cheney responded to the chants by saying, “But mostly, we are not going back.”

“Vice President Harris is standing in the breach at a critical moment in our nation’s history. She is working to unite reasonable people from all across the political spectrum,” Cheney said.

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Liz Cheney slams Trump while endorsing Kamala Harris in key swing state

18:16 - Source: CNN

The campaign event marks the latest effort from the former Wyoming congresswoman to move undecided voters away from Donald Trump with less than five weeks until Election Day. Cheney, who previously told CNN she was committed to doing what was necessary to stop the former president from returning to the White House, endorsed Harris last month in North Carolina, another swing state.

At the Thursday campaign event in Ripon — home to a schoolhouse known as the birthplace of the Republican Party — Harris will make a direct appeal to Republican and independent voters, according to the campaign official. She is expected to note the historical significance of Ripon and promise voters that she will uphold the rule of law and the Constitution, even if they disagree with her on policy issues.

Read more about the joint campaign appearance.

Donald Trump on Thursday falsely claimed Vice President Kamala Harris “stole” money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and used it on housing and gift cards for undocumented immigrants, as the former president slammed the administration’s response to Hurricane Helene.

During a campaign event in Saginaw, Michigan, Trump said, “Now we have a horrific disaster in North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida and Virginia. That’s how big this hurricane was, and the Harris-Biden administration says they don’t have any money. They’ve spent it all on, they spent all of their money.”

Key context: While FEMA does manage grants for shelters housing and helping migrants, that is a separate account and unrelated to the disaster relief funds.

The White House also knocked down the claim Thursday.

“This is FALSE. The Disaster Relief Fund is specifically appropriated by Congress to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate impacts of natural disasters. It is completely separate from other grant programs administered by FEMA for DHS,” White House spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández posted on X , in response to Texas GOP Rep. Troy Nehls making the same claim.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters this week the agency needs additional funds to assist states with the hurricane aftermath, saying: “FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season and what, what is imminent,” and said it was “meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have.”

The presidential campaigns and their allies are using advertisement spending to try and shore up key areas on the electoral map, with the Harris campaign prioritizing the Midwestern “blue wall” states and the Trump campaign placing a greater emphasis on some Sun Belt battlegrounds.

According to AdImpact data, the Harris campaign, the Trump campaign and allied outside groups have a total of nearly $102 million in ad reservations between October 1 and October 7 (advertising weeks are split Tuesday-Tuesday), and Democrats currently lead Republicans by about $60.7 million to $41.2 million.

The Harris campaign is targeting a familiar series of key battlegrounds: spending $5.1 million in Pennsylvania, $3.8 million in Michigan, and $2.6 million in Wisconsin, the aforementioned critical “blue wall” states.

It is also investing in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina, along with some ads targeting the up-for-grabs electoral vote in Nebraska.

The Trump campaign is targeting the same set of battlegrounds, but with a greater emphasis on the Sun Belt. The campaign has $3.7 million booked in Pennsylvania, $3.3 million in North Carolina, $2.9 million in Georgia, $2.3 million in Michigan, $2.3 million in Wisconsin, $1.7 million in Arizona, and $1.1 million in Nevada.

Top Harris ad: The biggest ad from the Harris campaign this week is a spot focused on in vitro fertilization, warning that Republican policies could limit access, and told from the perspective of a military family.

Top Trump ad: The top ad on the airwaves from the Trump campaign this week is a stark attack spot that slams Harris for expressing support for taxpayer-funded gender transition surgeries for detained immigrants and federal prisoners, a position she took during the course of her 2020 presidential campaign.

The International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) has decided not to endorse a presidential candidate this election cycle in an effort to “preserve and strengthen” unity, according to a statement from the organization’s president.

The Trump campaign called decision to decline to endorse a 2024 candidate “another blow” to Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, noting the union’s endorsement of then-candidate Joe Biden ahead of the 2020 election.

The campaign also pointed to the Teamsters Union’s non-endorsement last month, a major union that has backed the Democratic presidential nominee in the past several elections.

Both the Democratic and Republican vice presidential nominees, Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance, spoke at the IAFF convention in Boston in late August.

Vance was booed during parts of his speech, one time particularly after he said he and former President Donald Trump are “proud to be the most pro-worker Republican ticket in history.”

This post has been updated with the Trump campaign’s reaction.

Actress Jennifer Garner will campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris in the key battleground state of Arizona this weekend, according to the Arizona Harris-Walz campaign.

The “13 Going on 30” actress will participate in a “Democracy Across the Aisle” discussion Saturday with former Trump White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, who has endorsed Harris. Garner also will attend a “Moms for Harris” event.

The Arizona Republic was first to report on Garner’s visit to Arizona.