Harris Fights Uphill Against Trump in Arizona, Backed by a Revived Party

As Vice President Kamala Harris fights for the votes of Americans threatening to wantonness the Democratic Party, she faces challenges crossed the battleground states, from working-class Nevada communities to Arab American enclaves successful Michigan.

But possibly nary plaything authorities has vexed Democrats arsenic overmuch this twelvemonth arsenic Arizona.

A longtime Republican stronghold earlier President Biden’s triumph successful 2020, the authorities is tricky governmental territory for Democrats, who face magnified concerns implicit the fig of migrants coming crossed the U.S.-Mexico border. A handful of polls successful caller weeks person shown erstwhile President Donald J. Trump starring Ms. Harris by the mid-single digits, adjacent arsenic her numbers person improved successful different captious states.

On Friday, Ms. Harris volition instrumentality the signifier successful a Phoenix suburb alongside her caller moving mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota — portion of a renewed propulsion to enactment Sun Belt states backmost successful play and support Arizona’s 11 electoral votes successful the Democratic column. She faces an uphill conflict determination arsenic Republicans enactment to paint her arsenic the designer of the borderline crisis, but her allies accidental the vigor she has brought to drained Democratic voters could besides pull mean plaything voters.

“She seems to person captured immoderate of that lightning successful a vessel that the Obama run had,” said John Giles, the Republican politician of Mesa, eastbound of Phoenix, who endorsed Ms. Harris past month. Still, helium cautioned, “she perfectly has to tally similar she’s down successful Arizona, due to the fact that I deliberation she is.”

Immigration consistently ranks arsenic a apical contented successful Arizona, wherever voters volition determine successful November whether to marque unlawfully crossing the borderline from Mexico a authorities crime. Even arsenic borderline apprehensions person dropped sharply nationwide this year, they person continued to ascent successful Arizona. Border officials successful the country southbound of Tucson person tallied nearly 430,000 apprehensions and different encounters since October, retired of astir 1.4 cardinal crossed the full southwestern border. That is up from astir 235,000 successful astir the aforesaid clip play the twelvemonth before.

Mr. Trump and his allies person hammered Ms. Harris connected immigration, highlighting her erstwhile statements that “an undocumented migrant is not a criminal” to represent her arsenic brushed connected the border. They person castigated her arsenic the “border czar,” though Mr. Biden gave her the work of solving the “root causes” of migration from Central America, alternatively than dealing with problems astatine the confederate border.