The most important resource a candidate has is his or her time. Where they go, who they’re with, and what they say defines their sense of the race more than any spin their consultants offer.
There’s only one conclusion that can be drawn from where they were last week and where they plan to be this week: Kamala Harris is running scared.
With just weeks to go, a confident Democratic candidate would be reaching out to swing voters. She would know her base is already locked up, allowing her to focus full time on attracting the voters she needs to put the race to bed.
Harris instead spent the week courting the Democratic Party’s most historically solid demographic: blacks.
African Americans typically back Democrats by massive, 80- to 85-point margins. But with polling averages showing her winning this crucial group by a mere 64 points, Harris hit the road to plead with and cajole blacks into returning to their historic home.
She appeared in Erie, Pa., last Monday to appeal to blacks and followed it up with appearances in the heavily black cities of Detroit and Philadelphia.
The onslaught continued with appearances in Milwaukee, home to Wisconsin’s black community, three locations in black areas of the Atlanta metro area and more visits to Detroit and Philadelphia.
She even made a speech in a black church in Georgia, a staple of Democratic black outreach for decades, and gave interviews to noted black leaders such as Rev. Al Sharpton and podcast host Charlamagne tha God.
Nor is Harris done. She’s scheduled to campaign Thursday with Barack Obama in Georgia and Saturday with Michelle Obama in Michigan.
She’s not solely focused on blacks this week, however. She sprinted across three states Monday with Republican former Rep. Liz Cheney to attack Donald Trump on “democracy” in an appeal to GOP voters.
One might have expected more of that if she were confident in her appeal to normally Democratic voters. The fact she’s using a substantial amount of her time to staunch the hemorrhaging with blacks speaks volumes about her campaign’s biggest priority.
Trump, on the other hand, spent his time doing the swing-voter outreach one expects of the person in the lead. He went to suburban Montgomery County in Pennsylvania for a town hall and then held a town hall for women in Atlanta.
His speech at the Al Smith Dinner in New York — a traditional ritual Harris skipped — made national news, allowing him to talk to Catholic voters nationwide.
He then spent the rest of the week in outreach mode, including his stunt of handing out French fries to elated customers at a McDonald’s in Philadelphia’s suburban Bucks County.
Trump also attacked Harris at her weak point: black men.
His Detroit rally featured two local black heroes — including the legendary boxer Thomas “the Hitman” Hearns.
He repeated this at a metropolitan Pittsburgh event, bringing two former Pittsburgh Steelers stars onstage to announce their endorsements.
This week, Trump continues the outreach theme with rallies in suburban Charlotte and Las Vegas. He’ll also seek to excite the MAGA faithful with events in rural Georgia towns.
The two vice-presidential candidates’ travels mirror their bosses’ priorities.
Tim Walz spent last week campaigning at events focused on blacks in Saginaw, Mich., and Omaha, Neb., while J.D. Vance spent time in rural and suburban towns in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and North Carolina.
Walz looks to be doing a replay this week: He’s in Madison, Wis., Tuesday, Louisville, Ky., Wednesday, North Carolina cities Thursday and Philadelphia Friday.
Vance, meanwhile, is heading to the southwest. The Republican will hit both major media markets in Nevada and Arizona and end up in suburban Detroit and the nation’s chocolate capital, Hershey, Pa.
Anything can happen in a race this close with a mere two weeks to go. But right now, the candidates’ travels augur better news for Trump than for Harris.
If Harris is still talking to the Democratic base in the final week, expect Democratic concern to dial up to 11.
Henry Olsen, a political analyst and commentator, is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.
