What happened
Early voting kicked off in Arizona on Wednesday, making it the first of seven key battleground states to start casting ballots in the 2024 election. The Kamala Harris and Donald Trump campaigns sent their vice presidential nominees, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), to rally supporters in the state to get their votes in early.
Who said what
Walz visited a Veterans of Foreign Wars post and met with tribal leaders near Phoenix Wednesday then held a campaign rally in Tucson where he blamed Trump for blocking an immigration deal because solving the border issue "was an electoral problem for him." Vance held a morning rally in Tucson then attended a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) forum in Mesa. He claimed the federal Hurricane Helene response was hindered by Harris' "incompetence," CNN said, and "falsely accused" FEMA of spending disaster relief funds on illegal immigrants.
Arizona, "with its 15 Electoral College votes, has no clear favorite in the presidential race," The New York Times said, though Trump holds a "slight lead" in the state, which he lost by fewer than 11,000 votes in 2020. Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes yesterday urged voters to cast their ballots early, because it "helps us get our results in earlier."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
Harris is scheduled to hold a rally in Phoenix on Thursday while Trump has one planned 90 miles north in Prescott Valley on Saturday. Early in-person voting begins next week in four other swing states: Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina.
-
How China rewrote the history of its WWII victoryIn Depth Though the nationalist government led China to victory in 1945, this is largely overlooked in modern Chinese commemorations
-
September 3 editorial cartoonsCartoons Wednesday’s political cartoons include news from the war front in Ukraine, RFK Jr. riding the Grim Reaper, and a Donald Trump cabinet meeting
-
Why high-street coffee chains may have had their dayIn the Spotlight Rising costs of coffee, energy and payroll, plus growing appetite for luxury drinks like matcha, has caused boom in independent and speciality coffee shops
-
Trump crypto token launch earns family billionsSpeed Read The World Liberty Financial token is now the Trump family's 'most valuable asset'
-
RFK Jr. names new CDC head as staff revoltSpeed Read Kennedy installed his deputy, Jim O'Neill, as acting CDC director
-
Truck drivers are questioning the Trump administration's English mandateTalking Points Some have praised the rules, others are concerned they could lead to profiling
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich throwerSpeed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
White House fires new CDC head amid agency exodusSpeed Read CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after butting heads with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines
-
Trump soaks up adoration in his made-for-TV Cabinet meetingsIN THE SPOTLIGHT The president's televised sessions have become a platform for his top lieutenants to demonstrate executive flattery
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official saysSpeed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judgesSpeed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
