Belche starts now.

Good morning. It is Saturday, August the 17th, 80 days until Election Day.

And this morning, we're looking at a changed race and a changing electoral map.

In the four weeks since Kamala Harris took over the top of the Democratic ticket, she has upended a presidential race that had been looking quite grim for Democrats.

Yesterday, on the second anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, one of the Biden administration's

signature achievements, Harris traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina to make the argument

that she'll be able to handle the economy better

than her Republican counterpart.

There's a choice in this election.

Donald Trump's plans to devastate the middle class, punish working people, and make the cost

of living go up for millions of Americans.

And on the other hand, when I'm elected president, what we'll do to bring down costs,

increase the security and stability financially of your family and expand

opportunity for working and middle class Americans. It's notable that Harris's campaign

chose North Carolina to talk about the economy. It's a strategic move. It's a sign of how

Democrats have grown

more bullish about their chances this November. Going into this year, there were six swing

states that insiders believed were most likely to determine the winner of the presidential race.

Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. In 2016, Donald Trump won five of those six swing states, all but Nevada.

In 2020, Joe Biden managed to turn all of them blue. Biden's poor debate performance in June,

however, led to a collapse in support in his campaign for three of those swing states, Nevada, Arizona,

and Georgia. Many believe that that left him

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