Blue Wall Battleground: Harris Campaign Charts Path to Victory as Count Continues
As former President Donald Trump surges past 230 electoral votes, Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign team maintains a steady pulse of optimism, focusing their hopes on the crucial “Blue Wall” states that could determine the presidency.
Campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon sent a late-night memo to staff, emphasizing that this high-stakes scenario was “exactly what we prepared for.” Our newsroom obtained the memo, which outlined the campaign’s strategy as results from key battleground states continue to trickle in.
“We’re seeing exactly what we expected,” O’Malley Dillon wrote. “This is a close race, but our path to victory remains clear through the Blue Wall states.”
The campaign’s focus has narrowed to three critical states:
- Pennsylvania: With more votes still to count, Philadelphia’s Election Day turnout exceeded 2020 levels.
- Michigan: Detroit showed strong voter participation, though full results remain pending.
- Wisconsin: Key counties like Dane and Milwaukee still have significant vote totals outstanding.
Speaking from the Harris watch party at Howard University, PBS NewsHour’s Laura Barrón-López reported that campaign insiders remain confident, particularly about their chances in Nevada. “The mood here is focused but upbeat,” she noted. “Nobody is feeling the ghosts of 2016.”
The vice president has already secured a small but significant victory by winning Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District—worth one electoral vote. This pickup could prove crucial in a race where every electoral vote counts.
Officials from the campaign are drawing comparisons to the 2020 election, emphasizing to supporters the incompleteness of initial results. “We’ve been saying for weeks that this race might not be called tonight,” O’Malley Dillon emphasized in her memo. “Those who were with us in 2020 understand this well—counting every vote takes time. That’s how our democracy works.”
Decision Desk HQ has already called Georgia and North Carolina for Trump, making the Blue Wall states even more critical for Harris’s path to victory. The campaign expects clearer results between 3 AM and 5 AM Wednesday morning, particularly from Wisconsin.
Cedric Richmond, the campaign co-chair, announced that Harris will not make public remarks on Tuesday night, opting to address the nation on Wednesday following the counting of more votes. Richmond declared, “We still need to count the votes and call the states.” “We continue working through the night.”
Despite the tension in the air, the Harris campaign team remains focused on their goal. As O’Malley Dillon concluded in her memo, “This is what we’ve been built for. Let’s finish what we have in front of us tonight, get some rest, and prepare for a strong close tomorrow.”
The coming hours will prove crucial as election officials across the Blue Wall states continue their careful count of remaining ballots, potentially determining who will lead the nation for the next four years.