By james art Vice President Kamala Harris is coming to Reno this week for a campaign rally in the Silver State — widely seen as a must-win state for both major party presidential candidates.
The rally will be held from noon to 6pm on Thursday. The Harris campaign will announce the location of the rally to those who RSVP to the event.
The visit comes just weeks after Harris’ political opponent, former President Donald Trump, held a rally there. Nevada is considered a swing state, meaning it is not weighted toward any political party, and its six electoral votes could potentially help hand the presidency to whoever wins them next Tuesday.
California Rep. John Garamendi, who represents the district between San Francisco and Sacramento, will attend Thursday, as will Nevada Sen. Jackie Rosen, who is running for re-election.
In an interview with The Bee, Garamendi said Harris, who previously served as San Francisco’s district attorney, California’s attorney general and as the state’s junior U.S. senator, was well-versed in the most important issues facing residents of Nevada, including housing, transportation, water and US military presence in the state.
“She has this Nevada connection,” Garamendi said.
Asked what voters can expect to hear from the vice president when she speaks Thursday, Garamendi said, “I think we’re going to hear a lot of her closing arguments. She brings a new generation of vision to the White House, which is really important.”
Garamendi said Nevada voters will play a crucial role on Election Day, both in deciding whether to return Rosen to another six-year term and whether to vote for Harris or Trump for president.
Although Nevada doesn’t have many electoral votes on its own, Garamendi said the state could be an important fallback for Harris if she loses a larger state like Pennsylvania or Michigan.
“This is a critical step on the way to 270,” he said.
The Harris campaign this week also activated an ad in the Las Vegas Exosphere, a popular local landmark — the first time a political ad has run inside the Sphere. It’s part of a Harris advertising campaign in Nevada, including front-page ads in the state’s leading newspapers and mobile billboards in Reno, Carson City and Las Vegas.
According to polling aggregator FiveThirtyEight, polls in Nevada show Harris, a Democrat, and Trump, a Republican, in a statistical tie, with Harris averaging 47.6 percent support and Trump averaging 47.5 percent as of Wednesday.
Nevadans voted for President Joe Biden over Trump in 2020 and also voted for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over Trump in 2016, although Trump still won that election.
Nevada political journalist John Ralston of the Nevada Independent tracks turnout in his campaign blog on this site. As of Wednesday morning, 790,000 people had voted in Nevada, Ralston said, about 60 percent of the vote.