After the debate, Harris and Trump fight for the swing states

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are heading to swing states where they hope to win, both trying to widen their narrow path to victory in a hotly contested presidential race.

Harris has her sights set on North Carolina, where she plans to hold rallies in Charlotte and Greensboro on Thursday.

Trump is heading west to Tucson, Arizona, to stabilize his campaign, which continues to struggle with a realignment nearly two months after Harris replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket.

Follow AP’s coverage of the 2024 election at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

Here is the latest information:

New Harris ad highlights her criticism of Trump on abortion issue

Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign is releasing a new ad highlighting her criticism of former President Donald Trump on the issue of abortion during Tuesday's presidential debate.

The ad centers on Trump taking credit for the Supreme Court's 2022 overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision, which guaranteed the U.S. a national right to abortion for five decades. Instead, he turned the issue over to the states – many of which have since enacted restrictions or outright bans.

“I did a great service by doing this,” Trump said on stage. “It took courage to do this, and the Supreme Court had great courage to do this.”

The 60-second ad features Harris' passionate reaction and highlights cases in which women were placed in life-threatening situations after miscarriages because health care workers feared criminal liability if they performed abortions.

“I think the American people believe that certain freedoms, particularly the freedom to make decisions about your own body, should not be made by the government,” Harris said in the debate, her words accompanied by dramatic music in the ad.

This comes as Democrats hope the abortion issue will be a motivator for voters in November, as it was in the 2022 midterm elections, and as Harris has promised to sign a national abortion law if elected – though it would have to pass Congress first.

Former Republican Attorney General Alberto Gonzales says he supports Harris

Republican Alberto Gonzales, who served as White House counsel and attorney general under President George W. Bush, announced Thursday that he would support Kamala Harris in this year's election.

In an opinion column for Politico, he announced his support for the Democratic vice president and described Donald Trump as “perhaps the greatest threat to the rule of law in a generation.”

Gonzales' decision followed similar announcements by former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, former Representative Liz Cheney.

Harris is expected to participate in discussion at the National Association of Black Journalists

Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to participate in a discussion with journalists from the National Association of Black Journalists this month and give other interviews as part of her presidential campaign, with a particular focus on swing states.

Harris did not attend the NABJ annual meeting in July because scheduling prevented an in-person appearance. However, Republican candidate Donald Trump attended and falsely claimed that Harris misled voters about her race, claiming she “turned black by accident.” He has repeated this falsehood several times since then.

Harris is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, both of whom immigrated to the United States. As an undergraduate, Harris attended Howard University, one of the country's most prominent historically black colleges and universities, where she also became a member of the historically black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha. As a U.S. Senator, Harris was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and sponsored legislation to strengthen voting rights and reform policing.

Responding to Trump's comments, Harris said, “It was the same old show. The division and the disrespect,” adding, “And let me just say, the American people deserve better.”

CBS is planning a presentation of the presidential candidates on “60 Minutes.” Will Trump and Harris also be featured?

“60 Minutes” plans to air its quadrennial interview special with the presidential candidates in less than a month, hoping for the best even after its 2020 session with former President Donald Trump went off the rails.

With no further debates currently scheduled between Trump and his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, after Tuesday's event in Philadelphia, a “60 Minutes” interview would be one of the few remaining opportunities for voters to evaluate the two candidates back to back.

The Sunday news magazine plans to do so on Monday, October 7, as CBS will broadcast the American Music Awards the night before.

Neither candidate has yet confirmed they will appear, but their campaign teams have spoken to CBS, said Bill Owens, executive producer of “60 Minutes.” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said “stay tuned” when asked about his candidate's plans. The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Young women increasingly describe themselves as liberal, as a Gallup analysis shows

According to a Gallup analysis of over 20 years of survey data, young women are more liberal than they have been in decades.

In recent years, about four in ten young women between the ages of 18 and 29 described their political views as liberal. Two decades ago, about three in ten held this view.

For many young women, their liberal identity isn't just a new label. The percentage of young women who hold liberal views on the environment, abortion, race relations and gun laws has also increased by double-digit percentages, according to Gallup.

Young women “don't just identify as liberal because they like the term or feel more comfortable with it or because someone they respect uses that term,” says Lydia Saad, director of U.S. social research at Gallup. “They have actually become much more liberal in their actual views.”

Michigan politicians join nationwide, bipartisan efforts to fend off attacks on the electoral system

Former Michigan governors and elected officials from both parties are joining a broader initiative to combat misinformation and attacks on voting and vote counting in several swing states ahead of the upcoming presidential election.

The Democracy Defense Project also includes former officials from several states where then-President Donald Trump tried to overturn his election loss in 2020, including Georgia. Their goal is to build confidence in the election through radio and television advertising, media outreach and local engagement.

“We will speak out together, wherever necessary, when people try to question the integrity or accuracy of our elections. We believe in our system and we do not appreciate people making up stories that only serve their own interests,” former Michigan Governor James Blanchard told the Associated Press ahead of the official launch of the Michigan branch on Thursday.

Blanchard, a Democrat who served as governor from 1983 to 1991, is joined on the Michigan team by former Republican governor John Engler, former Democratic lieutenant governor John Cherry and former Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Bishop.

Democrats who claim a Senate seat in Florida is in the race have not put any money into efforts to make it happen

Florida Democrats made bold claims last week about their chances in a state that has become increasingly conservative in recent years, but so far they have failed to put the money behind their words needed to win.

“Florida is in play,” Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a former Miami lawmaker, announced at the start of a bus tour defending women's reproductive rights in Boynton Beach. Mucarsel-Powell is Florida Democrats' choice to challenge incumbent Republican Sen. Rick Scott for one of the few Senate seats Republicans are defending this election cycle.

According to data from AdImpact, which tracks advertising spending by political campaigns and their surrogates, Republicans have spent about four times as much as Democrats on the Florida Senate race through Sept. 11: $12.7 million to $3.2 million. Based on ad slots currently reserved through the general election, that difference is likely to grow.