In just over 24 hours, the newly-minted Harris-Walz presidential campaign has raised $36 million, held a rally for 12,000 people who stood on line for hours in Philadelphia's 88-degree weather, and reportedly had to move the upcoming Wednesday evening Detroit rally outside to an airport hanger after 50,000 people RSVP'd. Their rally Wednesday afternoon in Eau Claire, Wisconsin (photo above) has a miles-long line of cars to get in.
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Top political experts seem stunned.
Former Obama advisor and 2012 campaign manager Jim Messina reposted this video of the line to get into the Harris-Walz rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin Wednesday afternoon, and wrote: "Wow. VP @KamalaHarris and Gov. @Tim_Walz have electrified the election in just 18 days. This ticket is reaching out to build a diverse, winning coalition of voters. Like in 2008, this feels like we're on the brink of something transformative..."
Holy cow. This is the line right now to see VP Kamala Harris & Gov. Tim Walz in Eau Claire, Wisconsin — an area that is represented by a Republican in Congress. This energy & enthusiasm are freaking jaw dropping.
pic.twitter.com/J4gdDfrYPD — Victor Shi (@Victorshi2020) August 7, 2024
One reporter wrote on social media the line of cars to get into the Eau Claire rally was two miles long.
A Fox News correspondent at the Eau Claire rally posted this photo and wrote, "I’ve noticed a ton of Kamala shirts, hats - stuff I had not seen at previous Biden events. Voters told us they are feeling much more energized in the last few weeks."
Happening now: The crowd continues to grow in Eau Claire, WI where VP Harris / Gov. Walz will speak this afternoon. I’ve noticed a ton of Kamala shirts, hats - stuff I had not seen at previous Biden events. Voters told us they are feeling much more energized in the last few weeks pic.twitter.com/pX2KUk5Nl2
— Mark Meredith (@markpmeredith) August 7, 2024
Minnesota KSTP reporter Eric Chaloux wrote he had to walk more than 2.5 miles to get into the event, and posted this short interview with a local woman who said, "we don't have traffic in Eau Claire." She called it, "a hopeful sign there's hope on the horizon."
I started walking over 2.5 miles to Harris/@Tim_Walz event in Eau Claire to make it in for media check in—there’s a lot of traffic—here are some folks I met in the way—@kstp pic.twitter.com/hxsTxJoggE
— Eric Chaloux (@EricChalouxKSTP) August 7, 2024
And NBC News' Jake Traylor posted video from inside the Eau Claire rally, which has gone viral with 350,000 views in just 45 minutes.
????EAU CLAIRE, Wisconsin — Chants of “This is what democracy looks like” break out as thousands await @KamalaHarris pic.twitter.com/7ZEWT5T9Sf
— Jake Traylor (@jake__traylor) August 7, 2024
Trump vice-presidential running mate JD Vance is campaigning in the same states as Harris and Walz are this week. He has a rally in Wisconsin later Wednesday, and had a press conference in Michigan earlier.
pic.twitter.com/MKnJDGsJLi
— Maggie George (@MaggieLynnG) August 7, 2024
Former Obama chief strategist David Axelrod, who also served as a White House senior advisor and currently is a CNN senior political commentator, on Sunday said Trump still had the advantage, while claiming the outpouring of support for Kamala Harris's new presidential campaign was "irrational exuberance."
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“She has a lot of momentum, but if you do look at the polling, this is still a really tight race,” Axelrod said, as The Hill reported. “This is going to be a hard fight for either side. It’s based on the numbers we’re seeing right now.”
“Look, I mean, there’s a lot of irrational exuberance … on the Democratic side of the aisle right now, because there was despair for some period of time about what November was gonna look like,” he continued. “Now people feel like there’s a chance.”
On Tuesday, after the Harris-Walz launch in Philadelphia, Axelrod had a different view.
"That was a truly an amazing kickoff rally. Huge and energetic crowd. Great, connecting speeches and introduction of @TimWalz, whose Heartland appeal was very much on display. Hell of a start!" Axelrod wrote.
Earlier Tuesday Axelrod reposted Governor Walz's introduction video, and remarked, "Pretty powerful opener from @TimWalz."
Wednesday morning, Axelrod appeared even more upbeat:
"In past campaigns, Trump's never exceeded 47% nationally. He benefitted from 3d parties soaking up vote, lowering threshold in battlegrounds in '16 & suffered for lack of them in '20. [With] @KamalaHarris, Dems are coming home & vote for 3rd parties has shrunk. Ominous for Trump."
Watch the videos above or at this link.
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