Harris seeks to win over Republicans uneasy about Trump with visits to Midwestern suburbs

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Democrat Kamala Harris is out to win over suburban voters uneasy about Republican Donald Trump as she touches down in three Midwestern battleground states on Monday to hold moderated conversations with Republican Liz Cheney.

The vice president will make appearances in three suburban counties won by Republican Nikki Haley before she dropped out of the race for the GOP nomination: Chester County, Pennsylvania; Oakland County, Michigan; and Waukesha County, Wisconsin.

Harris' travel companion, Cheney, is a former GOP congresswoman from Wyoming and a fierce critic of Trump. Their conversations will be moderated by a conservative radio host and a GOP strategist.

With just over two weeks to go before the presidential election and the race a dead heat, the Democratic nominee is looking for support from every possible voter. Her campaign is hoping to persuade those who haven’t made up their minds, mobilize any Democrats considering sitting this one out, and pick off voters in areas where support for Trump may be fading.

A few votes here and there could add up to an overall win. In Waukesha County, for example, Haley won more than 9,000 primary votes even after she dropped out of the race. Overall, Wisconsin was decided for President Joe Biden in 2020 by just 20,000 votes. In-person early voting in the state starts Tuesday.

Cheney and Harris will be joined at the events by Charles Sykes, a conservative radio host and editor-in-chief of the website The Bulwark, and GOP strategist Sarah Longwell.

Cheney has endorsed Harris because of her concerns about Trump. She lost her House seat after she co-chaired a congressional committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. That's when a violent mob of Trump supporters broke into the building and beat and bloodied law enforcement in a failed effort to stop the certification of Biden's 2020 presidential win.

Cheney is not the only Republican to back Harris. More than 100 former GOP officeholders and officials joined Harris last week in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, not far from where Gen. George Washington led hundreds of troops across the Delaware River to a major victory in the Revolutionary War.

At a rally there, she told GOP voters the patriotic choice was to vote for the Democrats.

As the election draws near, the vice president has increasingly focused on Trump's lies around the 2020 election and his role in the violent mob's failed efforts. She says Trump is “unstable” and “unhinged” and would eviscerate democratic norms if given a second White House term.

“I do believe that Donald Trump is an unserious man,” she says at her rallies, "and the consequences of him ever getting back into the White House are brutally serious.”

Trump has been trying to minimize the violent Jan. 6 confrontation as he campaigns, claiming it was "a day of love from the standpoint of the millions.”

Harris will be back in Pennsylvania on Wednesday for a CNN town hall in Delaware County, where she will take voter questions.

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a church service and early vote event at Divine Faith Ministries International, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Jonesboro, Ga. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

NEW YORK (AP) — Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said the WNBA championship was “stolen” from the Lynx during her complaints about the officiating Sunday night.

The New York Liberty beat the Lynx 67-62 in Game 5 in overtime, getting there after a disputed foul gave Breanna Stewart two free throws that tied the game with 5.2 seconds remaining in regulation.

“We know we could have done some things, right, but you shouldn’t have to overcome to that extent,” Reeve said. “This s—- ain’t that hard. Officiating is not that hard.”

Reeve, who has led the Lynx to four WNBA championships and coached the U.S. women to an Olympic gold medal this summer in Paris, said she was aware there would be headlines about her complaining.

“Bring it on,” she said, “because that s—- was stolen from us.”

The Liberty shot 25 free throws, while the Lynx went 7 for 8. Minnesota was called for 21 fouls to New York's 17, with All-Star forward Napheesa Collier, the WNBA's Defensive Player of the Year, fouling out.

Reeve took particular issue with the foul on Alanna Smith with Minnesota holding a 60-58 lead. Stewart drove into the lane and appeared to take the shot before there was any contact. The Lynx challenged the call, but it was upheld after video review.

Reeve called the contact “marginal at best.”

“This sucks,” she said, after mentioning faulty officiating in Minnesota's loss in the 2016 WNBA Finals. “This is for a championship, for both teams. Let them decide it. What contact is legal should be the same for both teams.”

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve reacts during the third quarter of Game 5 of the WNBA basketball final series against the New York Liberty, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)