Will the Harris-Cheney show convince anti-Trump Republicans?

Kamala Harris spent all day Monday appealing directly to independent and Republican voters in the three states that make up the Democratic Party's so-called “blue wall.”

Two weeks after the election, Harris toured Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin with former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, an outspoken anti-Trump Republican.

While it's not surprising that Harris visited the campaign's most hotly contested battlegrounds in the home stretch, she deviated from her usual rally events.

Instead, alongside Cheney, she opted for a “town hall” format, a series of discussions moderated by figures chosen with an eye on the other side of the political divide.

There was Republican pollster and publisher Sarah Longwell in Pennsylvania and conservative commentator Charlie Sykes in Wisconsin. The third moderator was Maria Shriver of Michigan, niece of JFK and former first lady of California under Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The locations, suburban counties outside the state's largest cities, were also not chosen at random. They are rich in traditionally Republican, college-educated voters who polls show are leaning toward Democrats, although some blue-collar voters have shifted away from the party.

It is a sign of how dramatically the coalitions of the two major parties are changing in the era of Donald Trump.

According to Craig Snyder, a Pennsylvania-based Republican strategist who supports Harris, Democrats are making a concerted effort to reach out to dissatisfied Republicans, but hearing from Democrats isn't enough.

“These voters want to hear from other Republicans,” he said. “They want to hear that they are not alone.”

In all three states, Liz Cheney, who co-chaired the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and was ousted by a Trump-backed primary challenger in 2022, delivered that message.

“You can vote (with) your conscience and never have to say a word to anyone,” Cheney said in Michigan. “And there will be millions of Republicans who will do it.”

Harris quickly added that she had seen Republicans approach Cheney and thank her for speaking out against the former president — even if they never said anything publicly.

“From my perspective, she’s not alone,” Harris said.

The crowd at the venues was reportedly made up of Republicans and undecided voters, although the questions were pre-selected and the audience's reaction — nods of understanding and gasps of shock at the details of Trump's political misdeeds and transgressions — suggested it was mostly friendly.

Dan Voboril, a retired teacher in Wisconsin concerned about the toxic nature of Trump's Republican Party, said he was genuinely undecided but was considering voting for Harris.

“Come on, Dan,” Cheney urged. The former congresswoman went on to say that partisanship is less important than ensuring that a person of character and principle holds the presidency.

“If you wouldn’t hire someone to watch your kids, then you shouldn’t make that guy president of the United States,” she added.

However, most of the questions during this tri-state town hall seemed specifically tailored to Harris to address key campaign talking points.

A young mother in Pennsylvania asked how she could care for her elderly mother with dementia.

Harris explained her plan for government-supported home care. In Michigan, there was a question about Ukraine, which allowed both Cheney and Harris to warn that a Trump victory would result in Vladimir Putin “sitting in Kiev.”

The isolationist war approach pursued by Trump and his running mate JD Vance has appealed to Americans who believe the billions of dollars spent supporting Ukraine since Russia invaded would be better spent at home.

At every stop on the Harris-Cheney day tour, a question about abortion and reproductive rights was asked, allowing Cheney – an abortion opponent – to say that Republican states banning the procedure were going too far.

Current opinion polls show a neck-and-neck race for the presidency nationally and in the battleground states of the “blue wall.”

In 2016, Donald Trump flipped the three traditionally Democratic “Rust Belt” states that once formed the heart of America’s manufacturing industry, but Joe Biden won them back four years later.

Most polls currently show that less than 10% of Republicans support Democrats.

If those numbers turn out to be underestimates – if Cheney is right and there are timid Republicans who eventually break ranks and vote Democratic – Harris' path to the White House would become much easier.

At least the Harris campaign decided that the chance to weaken Trump's support where it might be weak was worth a day's effort.

North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher breaks down the race for the White House in his twice-weekly newsletter, US Election Unspun. Readers in the UK can Register here. People outside the UK can do this Register here.