Axios

Vice President Kamala Harris is (and has been) running with her first name.

Why it matters: The widespread use of Harris' first name in a major election cycle offers a fresh case study on how we publicly reference women in power — as her opponent repeatedly pronounces it in confounding ways.

The informational pamphlet that will be sent to Arizona voters this fall will call fetuses "unborn human beings" in the description of a citizen initiative that would restore Roe-era abortion protections.

Why it matters: Abortion rights advocates say the language is biased and meant to confuse and scare voters.

Vice President Harris' running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Wednesday that he's accepted an invitation for an Oct. 1 vice presidential debate.

The big picture: The CBS debate will be the first time Walz and former President Trump's running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, go face-to-face — that is, if the latter accepts the invite.

Oral arguments are set for December in former President Trump's case against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, after a motion to reschedule was rejected on Wednesday.

Why it matters: The effort to disqualify Willis from Trump's electoral interference case has delayed legal proceedings against the Republican presidential nominee until after the election.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will take a stab at getting the cryptocurrency industry to back Vice President Kamala Harris, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Democrats have work to do to get the industry in their camp, with the Biden administration seen as unfriendly to crypto. The industry is waiting to see where Harris comes down on the issue.

Iran has targeted roughly a dozen people tied to President Biden and former President Trump, including those in the government and associated with their campaigns, as part of a long-running phishing attack, Google said in a report today.

Why it matters: Until now, no third-party organizations had verified the Trump campaign's claim that it was the target of an Iranian hack.

The formation of the Harris/Walz ticket has touched off an intense national debate over... punctuation.

• Specifically, the divisions are about how to use apostrophes when writing about the candidates in the possessive. Is Walz Harris' running mate? Or Harris's running mate? Are we talking about Walz' record as governor? Or Walz's?

📰 AP style, which Axios follows, is Harris' and Walz's. The NYT, Washington Post and WSJ, on the other hand, do Harris's and Walz's.

• "The lower the stakes, the bigger the fight," Ron Woloshun, a creative director who leapt into the debate on social media, told AP.

The nickname game has been a staple of former President Trump's campaigns — from Little Marco to Ron DeSanctimonious, his monikers made headlines.

Why it matters: But now, as the former president struggles to shift his messaging toward a new Democratic foe, he's tried to launch a variety of labels for Vice President Kamala Harris — but they don't seem to be sticking.

Former President Trump on Wednesday questioned the legality of the Harris campaign editing news headlines within Google search ads in response to Axios reporting.

The big picture: The Harris campaign isn't breaking any rules with the ads, which link out to actual news stories but display headlines favorable to Harris. These types of ads are common on Google, have been used by other political campaigns, and don't violate Google's policies, as Axios reported.

About 7 in 10 women in Florida and Arizona say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to a new KFF Women's Health Survey.

Why it matters: The survey offers a glimpse at sentiments held in the two closely watched states where abortion rights measures will be on the ballot this November.

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is leading or tied with Republican opponent former President Trump in six of seven key swing states, per a Wednesday report from the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

Why it matters: Vice President Harris has seemingly flipped the script of the election, as Republicans were projected to take all the swing states just a month ago.

Instagram did not act on 926 out of 1,000 abusive comments directed at female politicians that were flagged to the app, a study released Wednesday found.

Why it matters: Vice President Kamala Harris' presence at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket shines a spotlight on the violent threats and sexist attacks regularly directed at women in politics.

The judge overseeing former President Trump's New York hush money case has declined to recuse himself for a third time.

Why it matters: Judge Juan Merchan's refusal to step aside means the case that led to Trump's conviction on 34 felony counts remains on track for sentencing in September.

A greater share of Americans say Vice President Kamala Harris is more honest and "committed to democracy" than is former President Trump, according to a Wednesday AP-NORC poll.

Why it matters: Harris' positives are another indicator that Democrats are re-energized after President Biden dropped out, with his successor drawing huge crowds, breaking donation records, and rapidly reversing Trump's lead in key states.

Vice President Kamala Harris, hoping to distance herself from President Biden's unpopularity on the economy, plans a new focus on middle-class worries and woes.

Why it matters: Beginning in North Carolina later this week with her first policy speech, and continuing next week with the Democratic convention in Chicago, Harris will tell Americans — most for the first time — who she is and how she'd govern.

This is the most gendered election America has seen — and the split has only deepened with Kamala Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket instead of Joe Biden.

Why it matters: Gender is rapidly becoming one of the starkest divisions in American politics.

New preliminary data from major U.S. cities shows that homicides were down during the first full six months of President Biden's last year in office — more than 70% in some places — compared to the same time of President Trump's last year.

Why it matters: The big drop is evidence that the COVID-era crime wave continues to recede, though not entirely in some areas, despite claims by President Trump that violent crime is out of control.

U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) defeated repeat challenger Don Samuels in Tuesday's Democratic Primary, the AP reports.

Why it matters: Omar's victory in Minnesota's 5th Congressional District is a win for the progressive "Squad," which lost two other members in primaries this year following heavy spending by groups affiliated with the pro-Israel AIPAC.

Millionaire businessman Eric Hovde handily won Wisconsin's GOP Senate primary Tuesday, officially setting up his bid to oust two-term Democrat Tammy Baldwin.

Why it matters: It's one of at least nine competitive Senate seats Republicans aim to flip to take back the majority in November.

Vice President Kamala Harris is heading into the DNC doing better than President Biden in the Rust Belt, and now she has extra help in the Sun Belt.

• Why it matters: Harris isn't just outperforming expectations. She's growing her overall lead against former President Trump, election guru Nate Silver wrote today.

Edge #1: Harris is narrowly leading Trump in the polling averages of the "Blue Wall" states of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan, Axios' Erin Doherty reports.

Both of Michigan's Senate nominees and its secretary of state have been the targets of "swatting" phone calls over the past week, The Detroit News reported today.

• "I will not be intimidated," Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson posted after facing two swatting attempts in 48 hours.
• "Swatting" is when someone makes a false report to police to provoke a major law enforcement response to someone's home.

The Trump and Harris campaign promises in just the past few weeks threaten to balloon the federal deficit, Bloomberg reports.

1. JD Vance's call to raise the child tax credit to $5k/child would cost at least $2 trillion, possibly as much as $3 trillion, over a decade.
2. Trump's proposal to end taxes on Social Security would cost $1.8 trillion through 2035.
3. No-tax on tips: Trump's proposal would cost $250 billion over 10 years; Harris' narrower promise would still cost half of that.

The bottom line: Fully extending the Trump tax cuts instead of letting them expire next year would cause the federal debt to spike to 132% of GDP by 2034, up from 116% if they expire, as Axios Macro co-author Neil Irwin reports.