The Latest: Harris closes in on running mate pick

Vice President Kamala Harris, grappling with how to keep early 2024 Presidential election momentum alive, is also preparing for a crucial week that includes her most critical decision yet: choosing a running mate

Vice President Kamala Harris, grappling with how to keep early 2024 Presidential election momentum alive, is also preparing for a crucial week that includes her most critical decision yet: choosing a running mate.

Harris, a former prosecutor known for being deliberative, effectively has a deadline of Tuesday to select who will be her No. 2 from a list that’s been whittled down to four governors, a senator and a Cabinet official who was also one of her 2020 foes. It’s a high-pressure decision that usually spans several months, but in this case is compressed into a matter of just weeks.

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Here’s the Latest:

Harris and her running mate — whoever that is — will launch into an aggressive, seven-state battleground tour that begins in Philadelphia on Tuesday and winds through Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.

Her early rallies have attracted enthusiastic thousands. Campaign officials say each stop will be loaded with local election officials, religious leaders, union members and more in an effort to show the diversity of her coalition.

Campaign officials are aware that momentum can be fleeting and are working to capitalize on the energy now, while managing expectations by continuing to emphasize that the race with Republican nominee Donald Trump is tight.

Over the weekend, Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign launched “Republicans for Harris” as she looks to win over Republican voters put off by Donald Trump’s candidacy.

The program will be a “campaign within a campaign,” according to Harris’ team, using well-known Republicans to activate their networks, with a particular emphasis on primary voters who backed former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.

The hospitality workers’ union UNITE HERE endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president, a rejoinder to Republican Donald Trump’s effort to woo restaurant and hotel workers by promising to make their tips tax-free.

The endorsement includes a commitment by the union to have its members knock on more than 3.3 million doors for Harris in swing states.