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Kamala Harris鈥檚 home state is California, and for that is a huge turn off. Around 39% of US residents say California is a model that they don鈥檛 want other states to follow.

California is considered as a bastion of the left. And San Francisco, where Harris was the city鈥檚 district attorney, is considered to be even more radically left-wing than the rest of the state, known for its liberal attitudes to and , for instance.

Harris, like other political candidates, can be framed by their opponents as representing the values or image of their home state, the place where they are registered to vote in the election. In the US, some states have a very specific image, and California and Florida (Donald 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 home state) are two of those.

The Republicans have already started to aim part of their attack on Harris, through the lens of California liberalism. Despite her reputation, a pro-Trump campaign ad released in late July repeatedly labelled Harris a over footage of her championing liberal causes as a California senator and candidate for the 2020 Democratic nomination.

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Harris has embraced her California background. Early on in her , for instance, she celebrated her upbringing in a 鈥渂eautiful working-class neighborhood鈥� in the San Francisco Bay Area.

But she is also aware that the Republicans are using her connection to California as an attack line. So she has been careful to reference her years as San Francisco鈥檚 DA, a prosecutor representing the government in criminal cases.

In one speech she how in that job she 鈥渢ook on perpetrators of all kinds, predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own game鈥�.

Although originally from New York, 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 home state has been Florida . In the 2020s, Florida became known for 鈥渁nti-woke鈥� sentiment under Republican governor Ron DeSantis, a legacy that makes Florida the political opposite to Harris鈥檚 California.

罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 use of Florida as a home state this year enables him to associate with Republican electoral success there as well as using some of its connections to the 鈥渁nti-woke鈥� agenda in his campaign.

Florida is a state where Republicans attract a considerable Hispanic vote. In , Trump improved on his 2016 vote share with Hispanics in Florida by 12%. This helped him win what had previously been considered a competitive, or swing, state (where both the Democrats and Republicans had a chance of winning).

In both and ,Trump spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, a conference that brings together conservative activists from around the country. It also allowed Trump to use particular lines that he knew landed with Floridian Hispanics.

罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 stressed the issue of illegal immigration, which of Floridian Hispanics see as the largest national security threat.

Vice-presidential tussles

The home states of the vice-presidential candidates could also be influential this year. Republican J.D. Vance is from Ohio and Democrat Tim Walz is from Minnesota, two midwestern states with different political images.

The midwest is a region with multiple and is therefore extremely important in the election. It contains significant numbers of and is famous for communities that rely on manufacturing jobs.

Vance鈥檚 state of Ohio shares both of those characteristics, with of its population identifying as evangelical Protestants. The steel industry, which has long been important to the and working-class communities, still has operating plants .

Walz鈥檚 home state of Minnesota is also famous for , but it differs from Ohio in other ways. Walz governed Minnesota while Ohio was by the Republican Party鈥檚 Mike DeWine.

Under Walz鈥檚 leadership, Minnesota passed a bill providing for all school children. This contrasted with the in Ohio, where cuts were proposed to school meals.

Walz鈥檚 image as may have since he was announced as vice-presidential nominee. He has stressed in speeches, talking of his childhood in a small town where everyone looked after their neighbours.

Nevertheless, Walz has been targeted by the Republicans for how he ran Minnesota. Recently, Vance claimed that Walz riots in Minneapolis, the city where George Floyd was murdered in 2020.

In doing so Vance attempted to connect Walz with urban disorder and liberal attitudes to protest, messages which resonate with socially conservative midwesterners.

If Trump employs the 鈥淪an Francisco radical鈥� label successfully, the liberal nature of Harris鈥檚 home state could put off some swing voters. On the other hand, Florida鈥檚 and the could hurt Trump electorally if swing voters don鈥檛 like the idea of those policies. Despite the focus on a small number of swing states, the high-profile identities of candidates鈥� home states cannot be ignored this year.