Harris campaign seizes on abortion exchange in Tuesday’s debate in new ad

Washington (CNN) — The Harris campaign is launching a new abortion-focused ad Thursday, capitalizing on what officials believe was one of the most pivotal exchanges between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump during Tuesday’s presidential debate.

Harris’ team prepared the vice president to confront Trump on nationwide abortion restrictions. Her aides argue the preparation paid off, crediting her needling him on reproductive rights for throwing him off balance the rest of the debate.

And now, they’re turning that moment into an ad that will run in battleground states, including in Arizona and Nevada where Trump heads this week.

The newly released ad includes both candidates’ responses on abortion on the debate stage.

“I did a great service in doing it. It took courage to do it, and the Supreme Court had great courage in doing it,” Trump said, referring to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Harris, in response, ran through personal stories of women struggling to get health care while navigating abortion restrictions.

“I think the American people believe that certain freedoms, in particular, the freedom to make decisions about one’s own body should not be made by the government,” she said.

Campaign officials cited the vice president’s response as one of the strongest moments of the debate, based on internal data suggesting that the stories of miscarriages and victims of rape and incest resonated the most with undecided voters.

In a statement announcing the ad, Harris-Walz campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said abortion is “one of the top issues in this election, and the difference between the candidates could not be clearer.”

It comes as Harris arrives in North Carolina – a crucial state that President Joe Biden narrowly lost in 2020 but one where campaign officials say they’re trying to make inroads with voters who may be put off by Trump and controversial GOP gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson.

North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper told CNN’s Jeff Zeleny Tuesday he believes Harris will move the needle in his battleground state after her strong showing in Philadelphia.

The vice president’s focus on protecting abortion rights and health care, Cooper said, could be key to bolstering Democratic efforts to deliver the state in a presidential race for the first time since 2008.

Harris campaign officials spent Wednesday poring over footage of the debate to identify key moments to put into new campaign TV and digital ads, according to the campaign, seeking to amplify what they perceive to be the strongest debate exchange.

The latest ads are part of $370 million set aside for digital and television between Labor Day and Election Day.

The-CNN-Wire
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