Harris looks for boost from Oprah as part of digital-first media strategy

Vice President Kamala Harris is looking for a boost with persuadable and less-motivated voters as she participates in a livestream Thursday evening with former talk show host Oprah Winfrey.

The event, billed as “Unite for America,” is being hosted by Winfrey from suburban Michigan, one of this election's key battlegrounds. More than 200,000 supporters have said they would watch, the Harris campaign said, as it promised “surprises” to keep them engaged.

Harris' campaign is hoping the event will have the same impact of Winfrey's talk show, which drove bestseller lists and allowed celebrities to share their softer side and everyday people to share stories of struggle and inspiration. It comes as Harris is working to continue to share her biography and governing philosophy with voters during her abbreviated presidential campaign, with early voting already underway in some states.

Harris has limited her interactions with the traditional media, instead prioritizing digital engagement and casual — and often more controlled — moments that her campaign hopes will reach voters who increasingly get their news from digital sources.

The in-the-round stage has the appearance of a college campus, with faux brick pillars and a background of trees and green turf under the chairs of the several hundred guests in the audience.

The campaign said Harris and Winfrey will make a direct call to action to viewers to volunteer for Harris' campaign and to make calls and knock on doors for the Democrat.