LAS VEGAS and PHOENIX— With four months to go until Election Day and an eleventh hour shake-up in the race, the work on the ground to elect Democrats up and down the ballot has picked up quickly. The addition of Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, to the Democratic ticket has motivated young voters nationwide, but perhaps most crucially in the battleground states.
Recent polling shows Harris narrowly leading over former President Donald Trump in Arizona and Nevada — two of the seven battleground states E2024 has traveled to ahead of the November election. Prior to President Joe Biden exiting the 2024 race, he was losing to Trump. For Democrats, Harris has become a beacon of newfound enthusiasm.
E2024 traveled to Las Vegas andPhoenix tospeak to Democratic organizers about the nature of statewide and national races in their respective battleground states:
Las Vegas
Deputy campaign manager and political director of Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom: Cassie Charles
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned in July 2022, states around the nation have worked to codify the right to an abortion in their respective constitutions. This November, Nevadans will have the opportunity to do this themselves. Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom is a political action committee working to codify the right to an abortion in Nevada’s Constitution with an approval on the November ballot.
Charles stresses how key reproductive freedom is for voters and how candidates should use this issue to further resonate with Nevadans:
“We’ve seen politically our state changes every single year and we want to ensure that no matter what, our Nevadans — our neighbors, our sisters, our mothers — have access to abortion should they need it. We fought hard for our right to abortion here, and if a candidate wants to ensure they areresonating with Nevada values … that means being pro-choice and advocating for the right to abortion.”
President of College Democrats of America: Carolyn Salvador Avila
Salvador Avila — the president for the College Democrats of America and the youngest Democratic National Convention delegate in Nevada — explained how Nevada’s influence in elections mobilizes voters to cast support for their desired candidate.
“Especially after 2016, I remember very vividly thinking that Hillary Clinton was going to win and then being completely confused and baffled," she said. "Knowing that our state can make a difference and knowing what’s already happened in the past is going to be a huge driving factor for peoplein our state,because we want to make sure that if we have a chance to affect [the election], we’re doing everything we can to affect it.”
Phoenix
While in Phoenix, E2024 stopped by the Keep Arizona Blue office, a student coalition working to mobilize young voters and elect Democrats up and down the ballot. For Jacob Marson, Keep Arizona Blue’s executive director, and Francesca Martin, Keep Arizona Blue’s deputy director, their conversations with young voters entail discussing top issues — such as reproductive freedom, gun violence and cost of living — and teaching young voters how they can cast a ballot on Election Day.
Growing up in a swing state, Marson and Martin explained the weight a single vote can hold in Arizona and why they believe Democrats will be successful in the state in November:
Deputy director of Keep Arizona Blue: Francesca Martin
“Being in a swing state like Arizona, you realize how impactful one vote can be. When you start to put things into perspective … you realize just how influential one person can be, a young person can be and how a whole generation can be. It really makes the work you put in that much more impactful.”
Executive director of Keep Arizona Blue: Jacob Marson
“I think Arizona is won or lost by just a few votes … The voters of Arizona, we are very used to close races. That’s why I think Kamala Harris, Tim Walz [and] Ruben Gallego are ready to win in Arizona, ready to have that very tough battle here. But, I think at the end of the day, they win on the issues every single time. It’s about turning out our people, it’s about turning out young voters, and I think once you do that — it’ll still be close — but it will definitely be a good night on election night.”
Follow @projecte2024 on Instagram for more coverage from swing states.
