Trump and Harris enter 99-day sprint to decide an election that has suddenly transformed

ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Just a week ago, there was a sense of inevitability hanging over the US presidential election.

Donald Trumps Allies gleefully predicted a landslide victory at a Republican National Convention that felt more like a coronation for a nominee who had just survived an assassination attempt and promised to unite the country. Democrats, desperate and listless, feared the worst as a weakened president Joe Biden clung to his party’s nomination.

But over the past seven days, a week unlike any other in American history, the 2024 presidential election has been transformed. And now, with just 99 days to go, a fundamentally new race is taking shape, with new candidates, a new focus on an issue, and a new vision for both parties.

Deputy Director Kamala Harris took Biden’s place last Sunday and quickly broke fundraising records, took over social media and generated a level of excitement that some Democrats said reminded them of the energy that was The President of Barack Obama historic candidacy almost two decades ago.

“This is potentially Obama on steroids,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, who was one of 40,000 participants in a Black Women for Harris call last week.

On the other side, Republicans are suddenly fearful and frustrated as they come to terms with the new reality that Trump’s victory is not certain. And as their mood worsens, the finger-pointing has begun. Some prominent conservatives are openly questioning Trump’s vice-presidential pick, JD Vancea little-known senator from Ohio with less than two years in office and a well-documented history of provocative statements.

Just 12 days ago, Vance was given a big round of applause when he addressed the RNC in Milwaukee, where people were adamant that Trump could do no wrong after his near-death experience.

“We’re light years away from where we were in Milwaukee,” said Republican National Committee member Henry Barbour, who predicted just a week ago that the GOP could win its first national popular vote since 2004 this fall. He’s not so sure anymore.

“The Democrats now have a candidate who can speak, who can attack. They have a weapon,” Barbour said. “They have a path.”

The incredible speed with which the election was transformed is a stark reminder that in the Trump era, little is certain and popular opinion is often wrong. Even now, Democrats’ newfound confidence may be premature. Early public polls suggest Harris is starting off in a slightly better position against Trump than Biden was just before he dropped out of the race. But the numbers also point to a very close race in a deeply divided country.

Meanwhile, there are still more questions than answers about the 99-day sprint ahead.

Harris has yet to pick a running mate. Trump has injected new uncertainty into the prospect of the next debate, scheduled for Sept. 10 and hosted by ABC, claiming it was part of a deal struck with Biden. Third-party candidates could still swing the race in unexpected directions. And more than $1 billion in political advertising remains to be aired as both parties rethink their messaging, policies and path to 270 electoral votes.

But the change over the past week is unmistakable.

Harris raised a record-breaking $200 million in the seven days since she took over Biden’s campaign, with two-thirds of the haul coming from first-time donors, her campaign said Sunday. In the same period, more than 170,000 volunteers have signed up to help the de facto Democratic nominee with phone banking, campaigning and other get-out-the-vote efforts.

Democrats from all walks of life have benefited from the unprecedented turnout.

John Anzalone, a former Biden pollster, described Harris’ candidacy as “a defibrillator” for Democrats and undecided voters across the country. “We’re back in the game, baby!”

Senator Tammy Baldwina Democrat from Wisconsin, was not present for Biden’s four most recent visits to her state this year. But she was at Harris’s side for the vice president’s inaugural meeting on Wednesday.

A similar statement was made by the governor of Michigan. Gretchen Whitmerwho was Biden’s national campaign co-chair, would not abandon her book tour to join the president in Michigan at a crucial moment earlier this month. Whitmer will co-headline an event for the Harris campaign in Pennsylvania on Monday, after campaigning for her in New Hampshire over the weekend.

And the conversation has changed dramatically.

Democrats are no longer preoccupied with questions about their candidate’s age and mental acuity. Instead, they are focusing on issues that allow them to go on the offensive. As a woman, Harris has focused on the GOP’s fight against abortion rights in a way that Biden could not. And as a former prosecutor, she has seized on Trump’s conviction in New York with confidence.

Harris has also focused more on grassroots and emotional criticism of Trump and Vance; she and her allies have taken to describing the Republican presidential nomination as “just plain weird.”

Meanwhile, a frustrated Trump has abandoned the magnanimous tone he tried to project after an assassin’s bullet nearly killed him.

“They’re all saying, ‘I think he’s changed. I think he’s changed since two weeks ago. Something affected him,'” Trump told a huge crowd saturday night in Minnesota. “No, I haven’t changed. Maybe I’ve gotten worse, because I get angry at the incompetence that I see every day.”

For now, the former Republican president and his supporters are pursuing an all-out strategy to figure out which attacks will be most effective against their new Democratic opponent.

Some conservatives, particularly in the pro-Trump MAGA wing of the party, have called Harris a “DEI candidate” and cited “diversity, equity and inclusion” to suggest that Democrats only embraced her as the presumptive nominee because of her gender and race. House leaders on Capitol Hill have discouraged such criticism, which is largely seen as racist and sexist, but the MAGA movement has not relented.

In Minnesota last weekend, Trump and Vance described Harris as a “radical left-wing nutcase” who wants to defund the police, destroy the American dream, allow illegal immigrants to vote and ban fracking. Harris’ team pushed back against the attacks.

Trump also devoted much of his speech to Biden, who was apparently struggling to move on from his opponent, whom he has fixated on since his loss in the 2020 election.

Voters who flocked to the Minnesota rally were largely optimistic about Trump’s chances this fall — even in their state, which Republicans have lost in every presidential election since 1976. But some sensed a shift and wondered whether Harris at the top of the ticket could make the race more exciting.

“That makes me a little nervous,” said Jim Caldwell, a 59-year-old truck driver who lives in a city about 40 minutes from St. Cloud. He pointed to the historic nature of Harris’ candidacy, which “may bring more people out.”

“People want the first woman,” he said. “I don’t think she’s the one.”

John Jose, a 56-year-old associate pastor from St. Cloud, said he was optimistic, especially because of the swing on the Democratic side. He also described the last week or two as “dramatic.”

“I think we need stability now,” Jose said.

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AP reporters Lisa Mascaro and Emily Swanson in Washington contributed to this report.