Harris continues to harness star power as she focuses on battleground states

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will criss-cross the United States to visit all seven battleground states in the coming days, part of a final blitz before the US presidential election on November 5.

Ms Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, is spending Sunday in Philadelphia, attending church services in the morning and visiting a barbershop. The vice-president also plans to stop at a Puerto Rican restaurant and a youth basketball facility.

She has tried to keep the focus on abortion rights in the closing stretch of the campaign, including during appearances with Beyonce and Michelle Obama.

In an interview with CBS News that aired on Sunday, Ms Harris declined to say whether she would support any restrictions on abortion, emphasising the need to restore Roe v Wade.

“It is that basic,” she said.

The nationwide right to abortion was overturned two years ago by the conservative majority on the Supreme Court that included three justices nominated by Donald Trump while president.

“My first priority is to put back in place those protections and to stop this pain and to stop this injustice that is happening around our country,” Ms Harris said.

She also brushed off Mr Trump’s claim that he would not sign a national abortion ban if elected. “He says everything, come on,” Ms Harris said. “Are we really taking his word for it?”

On Monday, Mr Walz, the Minnesota governor who is Ms Harris’s running mate, will campaign in Manitowoc and Waukesha, Wisconsin, before joining Ms Harris for a rally in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where the singer Maggie Rogers is scheduled to perform.

As well as Beyonce, Ms Harris has already had the likes of Eminem and Bruce Springsteen appear at her campaign events, as she harnesses star power in her bid for the White House.

Ms Harris will be in the nation’s capital on Tuesday to deliver what her campaign calls her “closing argument” in a speech from the Ellipse, a grassy space adjacent to the National Mall. It is the same place where then-president Donald Trump spoke on January 6, 2021, when the Republican called on his supporters to march on the Capitol.

Mr Walz is scheduled to campaign on Tuesday in Savannah and Columbus in Georgia.

Ms Harris plans to visit North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin on Wednesday. The event in Madison, Wisconsin, is expected to feature musical performances by Mumford & Sons and others.

Mr Walz will be in Charlotte and Asheville, North Carolina, that day.

On Thursday, Ms Harris will be in Nevada for rallies in Reno and Las Vegas, and in Phoenix. The band Mana will perform in Las Vegas and Los Tigres del Norte will perform in Phoenix.

Mr Walz plans to campaign in Harrisburg and Erie, Pennsylvania, and Detroit.