Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump faced off in their first presidential debate on Tuesday, and after the debate concludes, the two will now travel to various swing states where they will have the chance to speak directly to voters.

Trump has his sights set on Arizona, where he will hold a rally in Tucson, while Harris’ team is heading to North Carolina, where she is scheduled to hold events in Charlotte and Greensboro.

Arizona and North Carolina are both considered coveted battlegrounds for the 2024 election, and opposing campaigns are no doubt aware that winning either state will give them a broader path to victory in a hotly contested presidential race.

Thursday’s events came after both candidates on Wednesday remembered those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

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Democratic presidential candidate, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. President Joe Biden, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former U.S. President Donald Trump, and Republican vice presidential candidate, U.S. Senator JD Vance, R-OH, all attend the annual 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum on September 11, 2024 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Pollsters assume that ultimately only a handful of swing states will decide the outcome of the election. And the candidates’ respective constituencies provide insight into their strategies.

Harris immediately launched her first post-debate campaign with a blitz, releasing a new ad that included quotes from their showdown.

The current vice president also announced that she would return to North Carolina for two rallies.

Trump won North Carolina in his two previous White House races. The former president held rallies across the state last month, and Republicans are confident he can win the state for a third time.

However, Trump’s lead in this state in 2020 was only 1.3 percentage points, his narrowest victory in the state.

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The Harris campaign’s willingness to return to North Carolina suggests they hope the growing population will give them a chance to flip the state this time. Harris’ campaign said Thursday’s trip was their ninth to the state this year.

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Historically, Democrats have not won any electoral votes in North Carolina since 2008, when then-President Obama was first elected.

Registered independents – also known as unaffiliated voters – represent the largest voting bloc in the state, so the electorate is largely open.

A ruling by the state Supreme Court this week upholding that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. must be removed from North Carolina ballots could give Trump additional votes. Kennedy, a lifelong Democrat who ran as an independent, endorsed Trump in the race.

Historically, Republicans have dominated North Carolina in recent years, and the state has voted red in 10 of the last 11 presidential elections (Obama won the state in 2008).

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In Arizona, the political trend is similar – with one major exception.

While Trump won Arizona in 2016, he lost it in 2020. Republicans have won Arizona in nearly every presidential election since World War II, but President Biden won a narrow victory in 2020.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (right) and former U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands during the second presidential debate at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., Tuesday, September 10, 2024. (Getty Images)

More recently, the state has voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in only two of the last 18 elections (Clinton in 1996 and Biden in 2020).

In Arizona, 2020 was particularly turbulent for Trump, as he had already clashed there with the late US Senator and 2008 Republican presidential candidate, John McCain.

In Arizona, Republicans still outnumber Democrats, but a third of voters are independent.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Republican vice presidential candidate U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-Ohio) visit firefighters outside the FDNY Engine 4/Tower Ladder 15 fire station in Lower Manhattan on the 23rd anniversary of the September 11, 2024 terrorist attacks in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Wednesday’s gloomy performance offered a respite from party politics in the midst of a high-octane election campaign.

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Trump met with locals at a fire station in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, near the site where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed after passengers fought back against their hijackers. Biden and Harris had visited the same fire station earlier in the day.

Trump and Harris met in person later that day as both traveled to Manhattan for another 9/11 ceremony.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.