The October surprise: Harris is navigating a pair of them

With only a month left until Election Day, Vice President Harris is navigating a pair of external challenges in the month of October that pose risk to her campaign.

At home, there’s the recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Helene — including in the vital swing states of North Carolina and Georgia. And abroad, there’s the real risk of escalating conflict in the Middle East.

The twin crises present a unique challenge for the Biden administration and, by extension, Harris — who is a key part of that team. So her campaign and the White House are pulling out the stops to try to show voters they’re on top of things, even as Harris pushes ahead on the campaign trail.

For Harris, there’s the fear that these “October surprises” go sideways and she gets some blame. In a race this close, every vote matters.

But these kinds of high-profile crises also present an opportunity to demonstrate leadership, said Democratic political strategist Ian Russell.

“What she has to do, and what she is doing, is showing up and showing that she's engaged, showing that she's capable of stepping up to the challenges that the country and the world face and I think she’s doing that very well,” Russell said.

How Harris has been responding to these October surprises

Harris took a break from the campaign on Wednesday to visit a Georgia neighborhood ravaged by Hurricane Helene where more than half of residents don't have power and many don't have running water.

“The president and I have been paying close attention from the beginning to what we need to do to make sure the federal resources hit the ground as quickly as possible,” Harris said. “That includes what was necessary to make sure that we provided direct federal assistance. And that work has been