Harris Heads to Nevada Once More, With an Intense Spotlight Following Her

Vice President Kamala Harris is returning to Nevada on Tuesday for her sixth visit to the battleground state this year, her 14th since taking office and her first since some prominent Democrats began openly discussing whether she should replace her running mate at the top of the ticket.

Against that extraordinary backdrop, Ms. Harris is expected to keep the focus on the race as it stands, laying out the stakes in the election between President Biden, 81, and former President Donald J. Trump, 78, during a speech on Tuesday in Las Vegas.

But as some Democrats — horrified by Mr. Biden’s disastrous performance on the debate stage last month — urge him to not seek re-election or question his ability to serve a second term, the spotlight on Ms. Harris is perhaps at its most intense since she became vice president.

“It’s going to be a microscope or magnifying glass,” former Gov. Steve Sisolak of Nevada, a Democrat who supports Mr. Biden’s re-election, said in an interview. “People are looking for some indication from her, some signal, if there were one, that something might change.”

Mr. Biden, who had trailed in polling in swing states even before the debate, has been increasingly adamant that he is not leaving the presidential race, and some key Democrats have highlighted their support for him this week. Ms. Harris has backed him at every turn, making a crisp case for his candidacy and relentlessly promoting the administration’s record at events and in media appearances since.

But that has not stopped intraparty wrangling over the future of the ticket less than four months before Election Day.