LISTEN: GPB's Pamela Kirkland spoke with Quentin Fulks, principal deputy campaign manager for the Harris-Walz campaign, about how Vice President Kamala Harris intends to lead in the days ahead.
With just under five weeks until the presidential election, Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign is ramping up efforts in Georgia. Vice President Kamala Harris visited Augusta this week to assess damage from Hurricane Helene, balancing storm recovery with campaign demands. The campaign is also looking into concerns over potential voting disruptions caused by the hurricane.
Quentin Fulks, principal deputy campaign manager for the campaign, emphasized their priority is ensuring the safety of affected communities while maintaining a fair election process.
Amid these logistical hurdles, the campaign is also navigating the expanding conflict between Israel, Gaza, and now Lebanon.
GPB's Pamela Kirkland spoke with Fulks about how the candidate intends to handle all of these situations in the days ahead.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Pamela Kirkland: It's Morning Edition. I'm Pamela Kirkland. Vice President Kamala Harris visited Augusta this week to survey the damage caused by Hurricane Helene. The visit comes just a few weeks before Georgia voters head to the polls as Harris continues to make the Peach State a central part of the 2024 campaign. Joining me now is Quentin Fulks, principal deputy campaign manager for the Harris-Walz campaign. Good morning.
Quentin Fulks: Good morning, Pamela. Thank you for having me.
Pamela Kirkland: So, one concern that has emerged, as far as the campaign goes, is the possibility of damage from the hurricane impacting voting. Getting election precincts back up and running again, as well as those planning on mailing in their ballots. Is the campaign at all concerned with the timeline on the relief efforts?
Quentin Fulks: Well, look, I think that we're not going to try to rush anything for the sake of, you know, campaigning. I think the first and foremost thing that we're worried about is making sure that that folks are okay in the immediate aftermath of the storm and wanting the recovery efforts to be done in a way that is safe for everybody involved. And so I know that so far there's more than 3,300 federal personnel on the ground who are assisting with the recovery efforts, deploying food and water and generators and continuing to work with the teams on the ground. Our campaign teams in the area have also made sure that they are working to sort of deliver food and water where they can, because for us, this is really about helping the communities, you know? And so the vice president was in Georgia in Augusta, as you said, unfortunately, not being able to campaign, but doing the work of a leader and actually putting it to the side and making sure that the communities that have been impacted by the storm are okay. But to your question, we do know that, you know, early voting begins on Oct. 15 and voter registration deadline is Oct. 7. So I encourage folks to do that. Look, our our team is committed to making sure that we're continuing to work with partners on the ground to identify and address any disruptions to vote-by-mail and ensure that everybody can confidently cast their ballot. And if there are disruptions or delays with early vote sites or vote-by-mail processing, we will let folks know. And so really, really want to continue to to send our thoughts and prayers to everybody impacted by the storm and also try to do what we need to do in order to make sure that this election on Nov. 5 goes off without a hitch.
Pamela Kirkland: And in addition to the impacts of the hurricane, there's just a lot happening right now. There's escalating tensions in the Mideast. How does the campaign plan to address these challenges and reassure voters during these final weeks of the election?
Quentin Fulks: When it comes to, you know, the foreign policy issues, what we need our leaders who are respected around the world, leaders who don't immediately want to escalate tensions, but resolve them. And that is the type of leader that Vice President Harris will be. And so we can assure Americans that they won't have to go back to waking up and worry about getting on Twitter or X, if there's going to be a world war because Vice President Harris loses her temper. That is Donald Trump's style of governing, not Vice President Harris's. And when it comes to the economic things, we know that voters care a lot about health care. They care a lot about the economy. And I encourage voters who have yet to make up their mind to actually pay attention to all these campaign ads that you're seeing on your phones, on television, in your mailboxes, about what these candidates and campaigns are saying to you. Donald Trump left this state in a — the state of Georgia — in disarray when he was president of the United States. He's not thinking about the future of this country. He's only thinking about revenge and retribution. And he's not thinking about the everyday issue. Georgia's a state that's in the Medicaid gap. Donald Trump is trying to overturn the ACA, as he did constantly and routinely while he was president, ripping away health care from people with preexisting conditions. So you tell me a state that's in the Medicaid gap can't afford to not have something like the Affordable Care Act? Donald Trump doesn't care about that destruction or what it will do to the Georgians who depend on that. He's not thinking about that. He's not thinking about the cost of goods and services. Vice President Harris is. And so we're going to continue to communicate and talk about the vice president's and Gov. Walz's vision for the future of this country. Because Donald Trump simply isn't.
Pamela Kirkland: You mentioned a couple Republican names there. The campaign launched Republicans for Harris and Republicans for Harris here in Georgia. We saw Vice President Harris with former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney on Thursday. Does the campaign see enough Republicans who would consider voting for Harris to make a difference at the polls?
Quentin Fulks: Well, look, I think we you know, we absolutely do. I will say that we saw exactly how many Georgians voted for Nikki Haley even when Donald Trump got out of the race — or even when she got out of the race against Donald Trump in the Republican primary, I should say. And so we know that they are there. The other thing I will say is that, look, I was Sen. Warnock's campaign manager in 2022. 9% of Republicans voted for Sen. Warnock. Georgia is a battleground state for a reason; it's because of the inroads that we have been making in this state. And we've been doing that one, by talking about the issues that matter most, as I just mentioned in my previous answer. But two, actually going to the places that these voters live in and speaking directly to them, knowing that we may lose their county as a whole, but, at the end of the day, making sure that we're communicating and showing that we're willing to go places where Democrats may not normally go, if it means talking to voters about what's at stake and what you want to do. We have 200 full-time staff on the ground. We have 29 offices that span the state across Washington, Jenkins, Forsyth, Fayetteville. Like making sure that we are talking to every single voter across the state about the issues at play. And I think by doing that, we continue to show exactly how divisive Donald Trump is and the fact that the vice president is focused on building an economy and will put the middle class, no matter where you live in rural, urban or suburban areas, at the front of her priority list. And so we're going to continue to do that.
Pamela Kirkland: And lastly, a new Quinnipiac poll shows former President Donald Trump with a slight lead over Harris in Georgia, with voters saying Trump would do a better job on the economy and immigration. What's the strategy as you head into these final weeks knowing Georgia remains so close?
Quentin Fulks: Well, the first thing that I will say is that we never make knee jerk reactions to polling. I think almost every single poll I saw, again, when I was managing Sen. Warnock's campaign, told me I was going to lose that race. And we see how it turned out. But I will say that in this instance, luckily, what we need to be saying and communicating does align, you know, with with with some of maybe what the polling is saying here. And I think that that is basically when it comes to immigration, Donald Trump doesn't care about this issue. He has routinely stood in the way of it. He instructed congressmen and women in Congress to blow up the bipartisan immigration bill that Vice President Harris would have signed — and will sign when she is president of the United States — that would put more Border Patrol agents at the border, that would stop the flow of fentanyl into this country. Donald Trump continues to keep this issue relevant because he wants it to be a political issue because he thinks it somehow helps him. But in reality, he is the only one standing in the way of real progress happening here. And we can finally turn the page on Donald Trump and get something done on this issue by electing a president that will work with both aisles and both parties to make sure that we get it done. And then when it comes to the economy, again, I encourage Georgians to really do their research and look up Project 2025, see how disastrous Donald Trump's economic plans for our future are. He's talking about tariffs. He's talking about a Trump tax on goods that would cost the average middle class family $4,000. He is continuously selling us out, selling out seniors and people who depend on prescription drugs to Big Pharma. He is doing nothing but standing in the way of progress. And so while we are communicating, the vice president and Gov. Walz's his agenda, we also have to make sure that we're communicating exactly how disastrous Donald Trump would be and dangerous if he were to get back into the Oval Office. And we just can't risk our future on Donald Trump. And so that is going to be the message that you hear from us in the close. And so we're super excited about the next five weeks here and look forward to the vice president and Gov. Walz being in Georgia again soon.
Pamela Kirkland: Quentin Fulks is principal deputy campaign manager for the Harris-Walz campaign. Thank you so much for speaking with me on Morning Edition.
Quentin Fulks: Thank you.
