GEOFF BENNETT: Well, now let's hear directly from the Harris/Walz camp.

Michael Tyler is the communications director for the campaign.

And I spoke with him moments ago.

Michael Tyler, welcome to the "News Hour."

MICHAEL TYLER, Harris/Walz Campaign Communications Director: Pleasure to be here.

Thank you for having me.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, in the month since the Democratic ticket changed, the Harris campaign says the Democratic map is expanding and Donald Trump's is not.

The campaign says it's competitive in places like Nevada, Arizona, North Carolina, Georgia.

What do you all see that gives you such confidence?

MICHAEL TYLER: Well, again, thank you for having me.

I think, number one, what you see is an incredible amount of energy and enthusiasm.

That's on full display here in Chicago, but it's been on full display since the vice president took over the top of the ticket, named Governor Walz as her running mate.

They have been crisscrossing the country.

But, as a campaign, frankly, what we're more excited about is the fact that when people are showing up to those rallies, they're also signing up to volunteer, right?

We're continuing to build our grassroots army, because, yes, the map is wide open.

We have a path that is inclusive of the blue wall states, obviously, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, the Southwest of Nevada and Arizona, the Southeast, where I'm from, Georgia, North Carolina.

But what we understand is that this is going to be a very close and competitive presidential election, as all presidential elections are, right?

It's going to come down to tens of thousands of votes in a handful of those states that I just referenced.

And so what we are laser-focused on is making sure that we spend the next 70-some-odd days using every tool at our disposal to turn out our voters, right?

GEOFF BENNETT: So, what does that work look like?

I mean, how do you sustain this momentum to build a broad enough backing to win what you say will be a tight race?

MICHAEL TYLER: Yes, so it's a multipronged effort, right?

So, number one, we just announced this week that we have placed our first wave of fall paid media reservations, $170 million television advertisements, $200 million digital advertisements.

Given the way that people consume their media now, you have to make sure that you're actually hitting voters, not just with the right message, but across -- on the right platforms, so that you're actually hitting them.

So we're focused on that.

But then we're also using moments like this, right, where you have a convention, which is, of course, a moment where you can reach a wider swathe of the electorate, but it's not just for television, right?

We are also using this as an opportunity to grease the wheels on our organizing apparatus.

We had 2,800 events for our weekend of action leading into the convention, making sure that, again, across all of the battleground states, that we're knocking on doors, we're making phone calls.

Folks are having conversations in their own communities about the vice president and the governors vision for where they want to take this country, of course, the choice that we have between their positive vision and Donald Trump and J.D.

Vance's extreme and dangerous vision.

But we're making sure that we're using every tool at our disposal to do that.

We made about a million voter contacts this past weekend alone as we approached the convention, and we're excited to keep building that organizing momentum as we hit -- officially kick off the general election now coming off of the conventions.

GEOFF BENNETT: As Kamala Harris works to define herself and her agenda, should we expect that she will break from President Biden on some issues?

How is her approach to the Israel-Hamas war, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, how is her approach different from President Biden, if at all?

MICHAEL TYLER: Well, yes, listen, I think it's worth taking a step back and looking at this whole cloth, right?

I think, number one, you look at the accomplishments of the Biden/Harris administration.

The vice president owns those accomplishments as well, right, so everything from the nearly 16 million jobs that were created under this administration, the 800,000 manufacturing jobs, the work that she and the president have done to lower costs for Americans, capping the cost of insulin at $35 for seniors.

GEOFF BENNETT: So, then would a Harris presidency be the continuation of a Biden presidency?

Is that what you're saying?

MICHAEL TYLER: Well, at the same time, so, number one, we're proud of those accomplishments.

The vice president is very proud of those accomplishments, but you will also continue to see her increasingly lay out her vision for where she wants to take this country over the course of the next four years, right?

She understands that, for many Americans, prices are still too high, for example.

That's why last week she went to North Carolina and unveiled some of the first planks of her economic agenda, making sure that we actually do things like take on meat processors that continue to jack up the price of meat.

It's why she wants to build more housing in this country and incentivize more housing construction.

It's why she actually wants to give the middle class a tax cut, versus what Donald Trump wants to do via his across-the-board tariffs, which is tantamount to a $3,900 tax increase on the middle class.

So you will increasingly see her as we move forward in the general election, lay out her own vision for a new way forward and how we continue to build on the progress that she made as vice president.

GEOFF BENNETT: What should we expect to hear from Minnesota Governor Tim Walz tonight?

MICHAEL TYLER: Yes, I think what you will see tonight is sort of the capstone of what's been an introductory phase of this campaign for both the vice president and for the governor since she named him as her running mate, right?

He will talk a little bit about who he is, how he grew up, right, the fact that he began his career as a teacher and as a football coach, a state champion football coach, and how he took those lessons in the classroom and on the football field to a life of public service.

Obviously, he served in the National Guard, but then served in Congress, has served as governor of Minnesota, and, as always, no matter where he has been, has always looked to bring people together to solve problems.

And I think that's something that stands in stark contrast, not just to J.D.

Vance, but, of course, to Donald Trump, right, who looked to govern through fear, through division, through chaos.

It's going to be a fundamental contrast, not just in vision, but I think in tone as well.

This entire convention, you will continue to see tonight and into tomorrow, one of the fundamental contrasts is joy and hope versus chaos and fear, right, and hatred.

I think that's going to be on full display for the American people to see tonight in the governor's speech, tomorrow night in the vice president's speech, and for the continuation of this campaign.

GEOFF BENNETT: Lastly, there are reports that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to end his presidential campaign and endorse Donald Trump.

If that happens, how does that change the contours of this race in the Harris campaign's view?

Because RFK-aligned voters are more likely to be Trump voters than they would be Harris voters.

MICHAEL TYLER: Yes, listen, there are a couple of things I would say to that.

I think, number one, RFK was obviously funded by MAGA donors, and he parroted a lot of MAGA talking points throughout his campaign.

So it's no surprise to us that, if he were to drop out, he might endorse Donald Trump's campaign.

But what I would say to many of the undecided voters and many of the voters who were sticking with RFK at this time, if you're concerned about the threat that Donald Trump poses, if you care about the fundamental stakes of this democracy, if you want to ensure that we continue to live in a democracy, if you -- when you look at your economic outlook and you are looking not just for the chance to get by, but to actually get ahead, there is one candidate in this race who's actually fighting for you.

And that's Vice President Harris.

And so there's a home for you in the vice president's campaign.

GEOFF BENNETT: Michael Tyler, communications director for the Harris/Walz campaign, thanks for being with us.

MICHAEL TYLER: Thank you for having me.

I appreciate it.