How Taylor Swift's endorsement of Kamala Harris has already impacted the 2024 presidential election

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Taylor Swift prompted 337,000 people to visit Vote.gov so far by using the voter registration link on her Tuesday evening Instagram post.

The pop star gave her coveted and long-anticipated endorsement of Kamala Harris’ presidential bid after the first debate between the vice president and former President Donald Trump.

She included in her post a link to Vote.gov that urged her 284 million followers to do their own research and register to vote in November’s election.

The image of Swift was from a photoshoot of her and Benjamin Button, one of the mega star’s three cats named after the fictional character. It has more than 10 million likes.

Montana's Senate race has been moved from 'toss up' to 'Leans Republican' by Cook Political Report as Democrats face an uphill battle to keep the Senate majority.

Democratic Senator Jon Tester is attempting to hold a seat in a state that Donald Trump won by 16 points in 2020.

The Real Clear Politics average of polls has his Republican opponent businessman Tim Sheehy up by five points.

Democrats currently hold a 51 seat majority in the Senate but the map is unfriendly. With Sen. Joe Manchin retiring, West Virginia is expected to go red. Then Republicans need only one more seat to take the majority.

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter:

The largest largest Democratic opposition research and tracking group is launching a new ad campaign focused on abortion rights in key battleground states that make up the so-called 'blue wall.'

American Bridge 21st Century is spending $15 million on TV, digital and radio ads focused on the issue in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

The ads wil focus on the stories of real voters in those three states and how Trump's stance on abortion could impact their communities.

It comes after the ex-president refused to say during the presidential debate on Tuesday whether he would sign a national abortion ban despite being pressed by moderators on the issue.

Abortion rights remains a top issue in 2024 after Roe v Wade was overturned, especially among women voters. It has been brought up numerous times by voters to DailyMail.com on the campaign trail including in the battleground suburbs where both Kamala Harris and Trump are vying for votes.

Rebecca Reid from Chester County, PA said she would be voting for Harris specifically because of the issue.

'There's no question that Kamala supports us for that. Trump said he took away abortion rights and he's so iffy on the issue that he does not know what he's talking about,' she told DailyMail.com 'I want someone that's really going to stand up for women.'

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter in Charlotte, NC:

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is getting her very own ice cream flavor 'Kamala's Coconut Jubilee.'

Ben & Jerry's is teaming up with the political organization MoveOn to give out free ice cream in swing states to help get out the vote in key swing states.

The 'Scoop the Vote' tour kicks off in Philadelphia on September 16 and will travel throughout the U.S with more than 20 battleground state stops. It includes Ben & Jerry's as well as Jeni's Ice Creasms and Malai Ice Cream.

As part of the effort, Ben & Jerry's cofounders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield will be raffling off autographed pints of the 'Kamala's Coconut Jubilee.'

Charlie Spiering, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Vice President Kamala Harris surprised many viewers Tuesday by announcing during the debate that she was a gun owner, despite her long history of pushing for more gun control.

Harris first revealed her gun ownership on the campaign trail in Iowa, during her failed 2020 presidential campaign.

'I am a gun owner, and I own a gun for probably the reason a lot of people do – for personal safety,' Harris told voters in April 2019.

Campaign aides at the time confirmed that Harris owned a handgun and that she kept it locked up.

She has not revealed the make or model.

Harris spoke about shooting in a 2015 interview with journalist Mike Allen who asked her if she had ever shot a gun.

In response, Harris laughed and refused to say when was the last time she had used a gun.

'I'm a good marksman,' she added, laughing. 'Yes, I have shot a gun many many times.'

She confirmed she had shot a 'pistol' but refused to share further details.

'That's it, I'm not going any further with this,' she said protesting. 'You have just broken news.'

Charlie Spiering, Senior Political Reporter

Vice President Kamala Harris and her team continue frustrating the press pool of journalists charged with following her around the country as she runs for president.

The White House News Photographers Association revealed that the Harris team has restricted the number of photographers who travel with her from a rotating pool of four to just one.

WHNPA president Jessica Koscielniak sent a letter to the Harris campaign protesting the decsiion.

'The WHNPA strongly calls on the Harris campaign to reconsider the number of media seats allowed on Air Force 2,' the letter read.

The Harris campaign has argued that Air Force 2, the plane that carries the vice president, is not big enough for more journalists, forcing them to make cuts.

But the reduced seating plus the lack of Harris' availability to the press continues to be a source of frustration.

Melania Trump delivered her latest sales pitch for her memoir, this time focusing on her son Barron.

The former first lady posted a video extolling the virtues of motherhood.

'The challenges and rewards of motherhood, from sleepless nights to joyful milestones bring immense fulfilment, which only a mother understands. The lessons I have learned from this experience are profound, and they have shaped me in ways I could never have imagined,' she said.

Barron Trump is her only son. The 18-year-old is a student at New York University's Stern School of Business.

It's the third video Melania Trump has posted to her social media accounts ahead of her memoir's launch on October 1. It's been an unusual marketing strategy to get people to pre-order her book.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

Kamala Harris is going to go aggressive against Donald Trump in a post-debate campaign swing through two critical battleground states that will help decide the election.

She’ll even do more media interviews – after facing repeated criticism she has not held a formal press conference since being the Democratic nominee – and will fan her surrogates out across the country in the coming days.

Her new ‘aggressive phase’ will include campaign stops in North Carolina on Thursday and in Pennsylvania on Friday. Her campaign will also release an array of new ads that feature key moments from the debate, where she repeatedly got under Trump’s skin.

Trump, meanwhile, is headed West. He’ll campaign in Arizona on Thursday. On Friday, he’ll hold a press conference in Los Angeles and then a rally that evening in Nevada.

Polls show a majority of viewers think Harris won Tuesday evening’s presidential debate. Now it’s a question if she can keep up that momentum.

Harris’s team is calling her push her New Way Forward Tour and it includes ‘launching a suite of new TV and digital ads featuring key moments from the debate, engaging more with media, and fanning surrogates and supporters out to battleground states to share Harris’ message from the debate,’ her campaign said.

Tim Walz, her running mate, will also be doing more media engagements as part of their strategy.

Harris, for her part, will do additional local battleground state media interviews in the coming days, and next week she is expected to participate in a discussion with journalists at the National Association of Black Journalists.

It’s a full team effort.

Walz will campaign in Michigan on Thursday and Friday. He’ll be in Wisconsin on Saturday.

Doug Emhoff will campaign in Arizona and Nevada on Thursday.

Gwen Walz will campaign Thursday in Manchester, New Hampshire, and in Maine on Friday.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Former Bush official Alberto Gonzales will vote for Kamala Harris in November.

The former Attorney General under President George W. Bush said ‘power is intoxicating’ and he is worried that former President Donald Trump would not ‘respect the power of the presidency’ if he got another term.

‘[R]ather, he would abuse it for personal and political gain, and not on behalf of the American people,’ he wrote an op/ed for Politico on Thursday revealing his backing for Harris over Trump.

He continued:

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Kamala Harris’ support among Jewish voters is the lowest for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1988.

Jewish voters in the U.S. are traditionally more liberal, but only 65 percent of the demographic back the vice president’s bid for the White House and 35 percent say they will vote for Donald Trump, according to a Pew Research Center poll.

The 36-year low for Democrats comes amid a raging war between Israel and Hamas terrorists operating out of Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

Harris insists she will support the Jewish state, which is the U.S.’s only ally in the Middle East, but Americans are worried that more liberal policies will help embolden terrorists to go after Israel more.

The latest Pew poll has Republicans gaining support among black, Hispanic and Jewish voters.