LAS VEGAS – Big crowds, go-to applause lines, talk of joy — and some unsolicited Republican counterprogramming.

These were common themes during the first big campaign swing for Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as the new Democratic ticket barnstormed through five battleground states this past week on a get-to-know-us tour.

They opened with a boisterous rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday, hours after Harris announced Walz as her running mate. From there, it was a march through Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, and Nevada. Planned stops in Georgia and North Carolina were washed out by Tropical Storm Debby.

The tour was a way to help both candidates introduce themselves to voters, especially independent and undecided voters in states where the Democrats are in tight races against Republican nominee Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance.

It was also a way for Harris and Walz to get to know each other better.

A Look Back at the Campaign Swing:

Size Matters

Thousands of people have been flocking to Harris’ campaign rallies, a sign that her groundbreaking candidacy has generated new momentum among Democrats who were unenthused about President Joe Biden’s reelection bid. Harris is the first Black woman and first person of Asian descent to become a major political party’s nominee for president.

By the campaign’s count, 12,000 people turned out for rallies in Philadelphia and Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It was 15,000 in the Detroit area and in Glendale, Arizona. In Las Vegas on Saturday, more than 12,000 people were inside a university arena when authorities halted admissions because people were
becoming ill waiting outside in 109-degree heat to go through security. About 4,000 people were still in line when the entrances closed, the campaign said.

To Lance Jones, a Tucson native who attended the Arizona rally, it felt like “the tables have turned with Harris and Walz.” He predicted his state “is going from basically red to purple to blue.”

Those crowd numbers annoyed Trump, who regularly attracts thousands to his own rallies.

“Oh, give me a break,” he said at a news conference when asked about Harris. “Nobody’s had crowds like I have.”

Republican Counterprogramming

The Republican ticket didn’t just weigh in from afar, Vance tried to shadow his Democratic rivals during the opening days of their tour. He made appearances in Philadelphia and Detroit hours before the Democrats arrived in those cities.

But after Harris and Vance landed around the same time in Eau Claire on Wednesday, the Republican stepped off his plane and walked toward Air Force Two.

Vance later joked about the in-your-face move, saying he had a “bit of fun” while trying to “check out my future plane.” Air Force Two would become his primary mode of travel if he and Trump are elected in November.

The Stump Speeches

Harris and Walz delivered basically the same speeches — heavy on personal biography — from one rally to the next, with some tweaks to tailor their remarks to the particular audience and state.