Good morning. We hope you have a happy and healthy Tuesday. 

• Today's weather: Sunny with a high of 82.

☕ Member alert: All this week, please support our newsroom by becoming an Axios Nashville member starting at $50+ per year. 

• Sign up today, and you could win a $100 gift card to Frothy Monkey.
• And remember, all members will be entered into a drawing for prizes this week. Rules apply. 

Today's newsletter is 850 words — a 3-minute read.

Already a veteran of recent Nashville elections, Ben Eagles' latest campaign role has elevated him to the world of presidential politics.

Why it matters: Eagles serves as the director of speechwriting for second gentleman Doug Emhoff, the husband of Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris.

How it works: Eagles writes the prepared remarks for Emhoff's speaking engagements, including formal campaign stump speeches and fundraisers.

Flashback: Eagles, who went to college at Vanderbilt, spent four years as senior adviser to then-Nashville Mayor John Cooper before launching a political consulting shop this year.

• Eagles managed Cooper's victorious 2019 mayoral campaign. He also served as a campaign aide to former Nashville Metro Council members Mary Carolyn Roberts and Kathleen Murphy and on current Mayor Freddie O'Connell's 2015 council race.
• His work for Cooper included helping to craft his annual State of Metro addresses and other speeches.

Catch up quick: This gig with Emhoff was an unexpected detour.

• Eagles tells Axios he did volunteer policy work for President Joe Biden's campaign last year. He was connected to it through fellow former Cooper aide TJ Ducklo, who previously worked for the Biden White House.
• When Harris was elevated to the top of the Democratic ticket, it created a need to expand Emhoff's campaign team, which eventually led to Eagles landing the job of speechwriter.

What he's saying: "The intensity is high," Eagles told Axios on Monday prior to traveling with the Emhoff team to a campaign stop in Pittsburgh. "Being able to play my one small role in the most important event happening in the world this year is what drew me to be a part of this."

• Eagles, 35, mixed in the work of traveling around the country for a presidential campaign with wedding planning. He got married earlier this month. He says Emhoff called him on Facetime shortly before the ceremony.
• "It's been fun to work on something that's this high stakes and high temp," Eagles says.

Zoom in: Emhoff's speeches have shown several unique policy lanes. Emhoff, who is Jewish, was a business attorney before Harris was elected vice president.

• His speeches zero in on small-business issues, reproductive rights and combatting antisemitism.

Zoom out: In addition to Eagles, Paige Hill, who worked for Karl Dean's gubernatorial campaign in Tennessee, serves as communications director for Emhoff. Hill previously worked as a communications aide to Biden.

Share this story

Speaking of traveling around the country for the campaign: Vice President Harris and former President Trump have made dozens of stops in Pennsylvania and Michigan since August, but no trips to Tennessee and most other non-swing states.

Why it matters: Thanks to the Electoral College, presidential campaigns run through only a handful of states. An Axios analysis of trips by Harris and Trump sheds light on the states at the top of their priority lists.

Breaking it down: Since Harris formally became the Democratic nominee on Aug. 5, she's visited Pennsylvania (13 visits) — where 19 electoral votes hang in the balance — nearly twice as much as her next most-visited state, Michigan (7).

The other side: Pennsylvania (11) and Michigan (9) are also top of Trump's list, followed by North Carolina (7).

Read the full story by Axios' Dave Lawler