Breaking News: Presidential Campaigns Begin Sprint to Election Day

Kamala Harris AND Donald Trump are charting their path to the presidency with increasing clarity as their campaigns begin in the two months before Election Day.

The Democratic vice president and the Republican former president will devote almost all of their remaining time and resources to just seven states. They will spend hundreds of millions of dollars on voters who, in many cases, are just starting to pay attention to the election. And their campaigns will try to focus their messages on three familiar issues — the economy, immigration and abortion — even in the midst of heated debates about character, culture and democracy.

Candidates there will be a debate next week in what will be their first-ever meeting. The nation’s leading swing state, Pennsylvania, begins in-person absentee voting a week later. Early voting will begin in at least four states by the end of the month, with a dozen more following by mid-October.

In just 63 days, the final votes will take place to decide who will become the leader of the most powerful country in the world.

Harris and Trump have been neck and neck in most national polls conducted since President Joe Biden has ended his re-election campaign.

Follow AP’s 2024 election coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

Here’s the latest information:

Harris campaign aims to spend nearly $25 million to help lower house Democrats vote

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is spending nearly $25 million to help Democrats in down-ballot elections, a sign of confidence heading into the final two months before Election Day. A campaign official said it’s the largest-ever transfer by a national campaign and the Democratic National Committee to committees focused on electing Democrats at the congressional and state levels. The official said $10 million will go to the Democratic arm that works to elect members of the House and Senate, $2.5 million will go to the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee and $1 million each will go to the Democratic Attorneys General Association and the Democratic Governors Associations. That’s a reflection of both Harris’ strong financial position after a surge in fundraising that followed her replacement of President Joe Biden on the ticket and the improving political map for Democrats that followed.

“The vice president believes this race is about mobilizing the entire country, in races at every level, to fight for our freedoms and our economic opportunity,” said Harris campaign chairwoman Jen O’Malley Dillon. “That’s why the vice president made the decision to invest a historic amount of money to elect Democrats across the board: because Democrats win when we fight together.”

Vice President Kamala Harris’ Campaign Releases New Ad for Economic Agenda

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign releases new ad intended to contrast former President Donald Trump’s economic agenda. The spot highlights some of Harris’ new economic proposals, including federal legislation to address price gouging and cracking down on “corporate speculators” in the housing market, while Trump is pushing for corporate tax cuts. The ad is part of a massive campaign effort of television and digital advertising that runs through Election Day.