Indexbit-The Latest: Harris campaigns in Wisconsin and Trump in Michigan in battle for ‘blue wall’ states

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is Indexbitopening a two-day stay in Wisconsin and Michigan, and Republican candidate Donald Trump will be in Michigan on Thursday as the two candidates grapple for wins in the “blue wall” battleground states, which also include Pennsylvania.

Liz Cheney, one of Trump’s fiercest Republican antagonists, will join Harris at a campaign event in Wisconsin on Thursday aimed at reaching out to moderate voters and rattling the former president.

Cheney was the top Republican on the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, earning Trump’s disdain and effectively exiling herself from her own party.

Cheney lost her Wyoming seat to a Trump-endorsed candidate two years ago and she endorsed Harris last month. The two women will appear together in a historic white schoolhouse in Ripon, where a series of meetings held in 1854 to oppose slavery’s expansion led to the birth of the Republican Party.

Harris’ visit to Wisconsin comes one day after a federal judge unsealed a 165-page court filing outlining prosecutors’ case against Trump for his attempt to overturn his 2020 election defeat. Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and obstruction.

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Harris on Friday will hold a campaign rally in Flint, Michigan, continuing her tour of states that have been critical to Democratic victories. Trump won Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan in 2016, and Joe Biden won them in 2020.

Trump on Thursday will hold a rally in Saginaw County, a bellwether in the center of the state.

The Republican candidate has ramped up his focus on Michigan, holding two rallies there less than a week ago. In 2020, Biden’s win in Saginaw County by a slim 303 votes contributed to his victory in the state.

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Here’s the latest:

President Biden says he isn’t concerned the 2024 presidential race is close

President Joe Biden said Thursday that he wasn’t concerned the 2024 presidential race between Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump was close

“It always gets this close,” he said to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House on his way to visit storm-ravaged Georgia and Florida. “She’s gonna do fine,” he said of his vice president.

Biden was also asked how Harris’ running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz did in the vice presidential debate.

“The other guy lost the debate,” Biden said. “He misrepresented everything.”

Hurricane Helene brings climate change to forefront of presidential campaign

The devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene has brought climate change to the forefront of the presidential campaign after the issue lingered on the margins for months.

Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Georgia Wednesday to see hard-hit areas, two days after her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, was in the state and criticized the federal response to the storm, which has killed at least 180 people. Thousands of people in the Carolinas still lack running water, cellphone service and electricity.

President Joe Biden toured some of the hardest-hit areas by helicopter on Wednesday. Biden, who has frequently been called on to survey damage and console victims after tornadoes, wildfires, tropical storms and other natural disasters, traveled to the Carolinas to get a closer look at the hurricane devastation. He is expected to visit Georgia and Florida later this week.