Harris' concern is obviously that her Hispanic support is far lower than Biden's in both the 2020 polls and the final election results. But much of the new Hispanic support for Trump comes from younger voters who did not participate at high levels in previous elections. If those voters remain on the sidelines in this election, Harris could end up doing much better with Hispanics than the polls now show. They are also somewhat encouraged that Biden did better with black voters in the election than polls suggested. Harris will need it to happen again.

Harris also hopes she has greater support among women in the post-Dobbs environment than polls now show. While current polls show her with an 11-point lead among women, Biden had an 18-point lead in the 2020 polls and finished the actual election with a 15-point lead.

Gender polling has seen a dramatic uptick in this campaign, with some polls showing historically large gender gaps while others are relatively modest. Among women, Harris has an average lead of 11 points, but many polls show her with a much larger lead. If these polls are correct, it could mean that Harris will do much better on November 5th than the polls now suggest.

Harris says her team is “of course” prepared if Trump declares victory before the votes are counted

By Alex Seitz-Wald

In an interview with NBC News' Hallie Jackson on Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris said she was preparing for the possibility that former President Donald Trump could declare victory before votes are counted in next month's election.

Sitting at her official residence at the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., Harris said her campaign was prepared for the possibility that Trump might try to undermine the election but that she was focused on trying to beat him first.

“We will deal with election night and the days after as they come, and we have the resources, expertise and focus to do so,” she said.

Pressed on the possibility that Trump might try to declare victory before the votes are counted and a winner is projected by news networks and other media outlets, Harris said she was concerned.

“This is a person, Donald Trump, who tried to overturn the free and fair election, who still denies the will of the people who incited a violent mob to attack the United States Capitol and 140 police officers attacked, some even killed. “This is a serious matter,” Harris said, referring to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol in which Trump supporters tried to prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.

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Democrats are preparing for a possible crack in the blue wall

By Natasha Korecki, Carol E. Lee and Monica Alba

The “blue walls” of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania paved the way to the White House for the last two Democratic presidents.

But with just 14 days until the election on November 5th, Kamala Harris' campaign is concerned about whether the vice president can claim all three states.

Recent discussions have focused on the possibility that an anomaly could occur this year with only a portion of the blue wall breaching. According to three sources with knowledge of campaign strategy, discussions focused on whether Michigan or Wisconsin would “fall” to Donald Trump while the other two states floundered.

Losing Wisconsin or Michigan would mean that even if Harris secures Pennsylvania – where both Harris and Trump have spent the most time and resources – she would fall short of the necessary 270 electoral votes to win the White House without winning another or possibly two battleground states.

Also potentially worrisome for Democrats: What Harris' campaign team had considered one of their best insurance options could also be in jeopardy. Just a few weeks ago, several Harris advisers suggested in interviews that combining the electoral votes from North Carolina and Nevada would be a strong alternative path for Harris should Trump win Pennsylvania and claim its 19 electoral votes.

While North Carolina is still in the campaign's sights and Democrats have strong organization and leadership there, the Harris team is far less optimistic about victory, four people with knowledge of the dynamic said.

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That’s all from the Politics Desk for now. If you have any feedback – likes or dislikes – email us at [email protected]

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