2024 race hits pivotal new stretch as debate approaches and first ballots are set to go out

The 2024 presidential race is set to enter a critical new juncture, with Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump set to debate and the first swing state ballots hitting mailboxes shortly after the Labor Day holiday weekend.

As the calendar turns to September, both campaigns are narrowing their focus on key battleground states — with Harris eyeing an expanded map and Trump digging in across the Upper Midwest states that delivered him the presidency in 2016 and ousted him from office in 2020.