BORN TO RUN

Kamala Harris Brings in The Boss

But can Springsteen achieve in 2024 what he couldn’t do in 2016 and 2004?

Bruce Springsteen is hitting the campaign trail for Kamala Harris in the final sprint starting with a concert and rally Thursday in Atlanta, where the Boss will be joined by the vice president and former President Barack Obama.

The Harris campaign is billing the “major event” as the first in a series of “When We Vote We Win” concerts to drum up enthusiasm and get Georgians to vote early in that key swing state.

Springsteen will also headline another get-out-the-vote concert for Harris closer to his Jersey Shore roots and fanbase in the biggest city of the biggest—and perhaps most important—of the seven battleground states where the election will be decided. The Philadelphia show is set for Monday of next week, with Obama joining again, but this time without Harris.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s “Born in the USA” vibe stands in stark contrast to Donald Trump’s campaign trail crooner Lee Greenwood’s “Bless the USA.” And Democrats are hopeful the Boss will wrangle undecided Republican voters among his Baby Boomer fans to vote for Harris in both crucial swing states.

“He is great at keeping up enthusiasm,” says communications consultant Eric London, a Springsteen fan who has worked in Democratic politics. “There are still a lot of people who vote on Election Day. In the Philly suburbs, those Republican Boomers can be peeled off.”

Springsteen’s concert on Election Eve in 2016 didn’t put Hillary Clinton over the top—Trump won Pennsylvania that year—nor did his 2004 lakeside concert in Cleveland hand victory to John Kerry. George W. Bush carried Ohio to win a second term in the Oval Office.

This week’s Atlanta rally will mark the first time Harris and Obama have appeared together on the campaign trail since the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.

Atlanta-based filmmaker and producer Tyler Perry will also deliver remarks at the Thursday concert rally; and Mix Master David will emcee and DJ the event, according to the Harris campaign.

Harris and Trump have been locked in a dead heat down to the wire and both campaigns are eagerly trying to appeal to undecided voters, which, according to the Pew Research Center, is a higher percentage of voters than originally thought.

Meanwhile, in the battleground state of Michigan, rapper Eminem is putting his fanbase on the line Tuesday night in Detroit, where he’s scheduled to join former President Obama at a Harris rally.

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Mary Ann AkersWashington Bureau Chief

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