Evening Report — Obama, Clinton look to give Harris a jolt

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Evening Report

Obama, Clinton look to give Harris a jolt

Vice President Harris’s campaign will get a boost from two former presidents returning to the campaign trail this week, as she seeks to recreate past Democratic coalitions that have drifted to the right in recent elections.

Former President Obama will make his highly anticipated return to the spotlight this evening at a rally in Pennsylvania, which could be the decisive swing state in the race for the White House.

Obama will hold a rally in Pittsburgh as he tries to help Harris recreate his coalition from 2008, when he rode support from white working class voters to victories in Midwest and Rust Belt states, such as Iowa and Ohio.
Those same voters shifted their support to former President Trump in 2016, and Harris has struggled to connect with that demographic so far in 2024. There are 206 “pivot" counties that swung from Obama to Trump between 2012 and 2016. Trump retained 181 of those in his 2020 election loss to President Biden.
Democrats are concerned that the same voting bloc will lead Trump to victories in one of the “Blue Wall” states that represent Harris’s likeliest path to the White House.

Harris will also get an assist from former President Clinton starting this weekend.

Harris spokesman Ian Sams said the campaign is preparing to “unleash the big dog” across the South.
Clinton, the former governor of Arkansas, will campaign for rural voters in Georgia and North Carolina.

Meanwhile, former first lady Michelle Obama, who is probably the most popular Democrat in the country, announced more than 500 early voting events as part of her voter mobilization initiative.

Read more:

Why Pennsylvania will decide the next president.
Harris, Trump in virtual dead heat in major swing states.
Harris holds advantage on likability, Trump has edge on leadership.
Harris has raised more than $1 billion since entering the race.
Harris’s dilemma: Criticize Biden or set her own agenda.
Harris accepts invitation to CNN town hall as debate with Trump appears unlikely.

Welcome to Evening Report! I'm Jonathan Easley, catching you up from the afternoon and what's coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here.

CATCH UP QUICK

Consumer prices rose by 0.2 percent for the month. The annual inflation rate dropped to 2.4 percent, the lowest since February of 2021.
Vaccines designed to prevent cancer are in early human trials.
Social Security announced a 2.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment for 2025.
The Supreme Court seems likely to give a death row inmate a new day in court.
Sean "Diddy" Combs will make his first appearance in front of a judge for his sex trafficking case.

NEW THIS AFTERNOON

Florida deals with aftermath of Hurricane Milton

At least 10 people are dead and millions are without power after Hurricane Milton plowed across Florida on Thursday, compounding the devastation from Hurricane Helene.

Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm, bringing 120 mph winds as it barreled into Florida’s western coast about 70 miles south of Tampa.

By early accounts, it appears the devastation was not as extensive as initially feared.

“The storm was significant, but thankfully, this was not the worst-case scenario,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas warned that dangerous days still lie ahead.

"Milton may have passed, but the danger it poses has not,” he said at a White House press briefing. “Downed power lines, floodwaters, non-potable drinking water and debris are creating deadly conditions.”

Facts and figures:

About 3.1 million are currently without power in Florida.
At least five people died during an unprecedented flurry of tornadoes.
A busted water main in St. Petersburg has deprived residents of drinkable water.
Wind tore the roof off of Tropicana Field, where the Tampa Bay Rays play.

Follow along with The Hill's live blog for the latest updates.

DeSantis said evacuation efforts were largely a success and may have limited the number of fatalities, as thousands of state and federal emergency response workers begin search and rescue efforts.

“We don’t have confirmed reports of other fatalities throughout the rest of the state, but we may as the day goes on,” DeSantis said. “My sense is that a lot of the people did leave who were in the evacuation zones. I know we had over 80,000 people staying in shelters. You had massive, heavy traffic on the interstates over the last several days leading up to the storm, because I think people were deciding to just get out of dodge.”

The political element has been inescapable this close to the election.

President Biden has praised DeSantis for the storm preparation efforts, even while Vice President Harris and DeSantis have taken shots at each other.
DeSantis accused Harris of “trying to inject herself” into the relief efforts after she said he refused to take her phone call.
Biden took aim at former President Trump, who has criticized the federal response to Hurricane Helene, which tore through six states in the Southeast and resulted in a humanitarian crisis in western North Carolina. “Get a life man, help these people,” Biden said.

Read More:

Video: Milton sucks water out of Tampa in rare reverse storm surge.
DeSantis rips Wall Street analysis over Milton assessment.
125 homes destroyed before Milton made landfall.
Milton, Helene leave students and schools reeling.
Severe solar storm headed toward Earth could stress power grids.
Los Angeles experiencing most seismic activity in decades.

IN OTHER NEWS

Washington roundup: Upset brewing in Nebraska?

Could independent candidate Dan Osborn defeat Sen. Deb Fischer (R) in Nebraska? Osborn’s campaign leaked findings from an internal poll showing him with a 2 point lead, according to Politico Playbook. Fischer leads by 2 points in the 538 polling average. That’s too close for comfort for Republicans, who cannot afford to fumble away a Senate seat in any red states if they hope to win a majority.
New Senate polling from the New York Times/Siena College finds Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) with a 4 point lead over Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas). Sen Rick Scott (R-Fla.) has a 9 point lead in Florida, and former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) leads Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) by 8 points in Montana. If those hold — and if Fischer holds on Nebraska — Republicans would have a 51-49 majority, assuming all the remaining Democratic incumbents win their races. The GOP could pad a potential majority by defeating Senate Democrats facing tough reelection battles in states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.
Republicans are facing a new litmus test from the media, as they’re bombarded with questions about whether they’ll certify the 2024 election regardless of the outcome. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who will retain the Speakership through year’s end, will play a role in the certification process. He’s been adamant that he’ll play fair, but he's dodged questions about whether former President Trump lost in 2020. GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake (Ariz.) also dodged when asked at last night’s debate against Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.). The Hill has your 5 takeaways from that debate.
Some vulnerable House Democrats are keeping their distance from Vice President Harris. The House Democratic campaign chief told The Hill’s Mychael Schnell that’s OK — that members should run their races in ways that cater to their voters, even if it breaks from the “national landscape.”
The Hill’s Rafael Bernal has the state of play as Republicans seek to elect more Latinos to the House. Rep. Tony Gonzalez (R-Texas) is leading that effort, although Democrats have a big head start.