Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump faced off in their first presidential debate on Tuesday, and now that the debate is over, they're both traveling to battleground states for a chance to speak to voters face-to-face.
Trump has his sights set on Arizona, where he will hold a rally in Tucson, while Harris' team will head to North Carolina, where he will hold rallies in Charlotte and Greensboro.
Both Arizona and North Carolina are considered key battlegrounds in the 2024 presidential election, and the opposing camps no doubt understand that winning either state could widen their narrow path to victory in a tightly contested presidential election.
Thursday's event came after both candidates on Wednesday paid tribute to those who lost their lives in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Top 5 moments from the Trump-Harris presidential debate
Democratic presidential candidate United States Vice President Kamala Harris, United States President Joe Biden, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former US President Donald Trump, and Republican vice presidential candidate United States Senator J. D. Vance (R-Ohio) attended the annual 9/11 remembrance ceremony at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City on September 11, 2024. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Polling experts say only a handful of battleground states will ultimately determine the election's outcome, and where each candidate ends up will suggest their strategy.
Trump has won North Carolina in both of his previous presidential elections, and after holding rallies across the state last month, Republicans are confident they can win the state for a third time.
But Trump's margin of victory in the state in 2020 was just 1.3 percentage points, the narrowest of any state that year.
We have won and lost together on the battlefield
Harris' campaign is eager to return to North Carolina because it hopes the state's diverse population gives it a chance to flip the state in this election. Thursday's visit will be her ninth this year, the campaign said.
ABC debate moderator accused of failing to fact-check one candidate
Historically, a Democrat has not won North Carolina's electoral votes since 2008, when former President Barack Obama was first elected.
Registered independents, also known as unaffiliated voters, are the state's largest voting group, so there's a lot of room to compete for their seats.
The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled this week that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. must be removed from the North Carolina ballot, a decision that could give Trump more votes. Kennedy, a lifelong Democrat running as an independent, supported Trump in the race.
Historically, North Carolina has been a Republican strong state in recent years, with the state voting Republican in 10 of the last 11 presidential elections (Obama won the state in 2008).
Trump accuses Biden-Harris administration of letting 'millions of criminals' into the country
The political dynamics in Arizona are similar, with one big exception.
Trump won Arizona in 2016 but lost in 2020. Republicans have won the state in nearly every presidential election since World War II, but President Biden narrowly won in 2020.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (R) and former U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands during the second presidential debate at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, Tuesday, September 10, 2024. (Getty Images)
More recently, the state has voted for the Democratic presidential candidate only twice in the past 18 elections (Clinton in 1996 and Biden in 2020).
Arizona was a particularly eventful state for Trump in 2020 because of his previous run-in with the late Sen. John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee.
Republicans still outnumber Democrats in Arizona, but a third of voters identify as independents.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Republican vice presidential nominee Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) met with firefighters outside FDNY Engine 4/Tower Ladder 15 Fire Station in lower Manhattan on the 23rd anniversary of the September 11, 2024 terrorist attacks in New York City. (Spencer Pratt/Getty Images)
Wednesday's solemn contest offered a respite from the partisan politics of a fast-paced election season.
Click here to get the FOX News app
Trump met with local residents at a fire station in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, near the site where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed after passengers fought off hijackers. Biden and Harris also visited the same fire station on the same day.
Trump and Harris met in person later that day when they traveled to Manhattan to attend the 9/11 memorial.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
