Scottish Lib Dem leader to campaign for Kamala Harris in pivotal US swing state
The leader of the Scottish Lib Dems is to fly to the US this month to campaign for Kamala Harris in a key swing state. Alex Cole-Hamilton will knock doors in the city of Scranton to help the Democratic Vice President in the “most important” election in “global” history.
Polls suggest Harris and Donald Trump are in a knife edge presidential contest.
Harris stepped in as the candidate for the Democrats after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race. Experts say the result will be determined by a handful of swing states, particularly Pennsylvania.
Cole-Hamilton said he will fly out in a couple of weeks: “I am going out with three other Lib Dems friends where we will stay with my sister.
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"She stays in upstate New York, but she is an hour north of Scranton. We booked the flights the day after Joe Biden stepped back and it became apparent Kamala Harris was going to become the presumptive nominee.
“We are political animals and this feels like a moment in time where I want to know I did something, even if that is just turning up at local Democratic precincts in Scranton and knocking doors for six or seven days. I want to see the whites of people’s eyes and hear what they are saying. This feels like one of the most important elections, not just in American history, but global history.”
He said of Trump: “The stakes are really high. Look at the rhetoric around Ukraine and Russian aggression. Donald Trump is clearly a friend of Putin and will not have the backbone or resolve to supply the fighting men and women with the material they need to win the war. And if that happens, what does that mean for NATO? This is a global crossroads. It feels like the least I can do.”
Asked about potential criticism that he will be interfering in another country’s election, he said: “It’s not my first rodeo. I was there in 2008 helping Obama. I am not breaking any rules. I am using some of my free time during Holyrood recess. I am going to indulge my favourite hobby, which is going out and speaking to people about what matters to them."
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