Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign set its sights on Georgia and other swing states as the last two-week countdown to election day began.
In these final days of campaigning, Harris teamed up with former President Barack Obama to campaign across states where the polls are close between her and her opponent, former President Donald Trump.
“Everybody here knows it’s going to be a tight race until the very end, so we have a lot of work ahead of us,” Harris said during her speech. “But we like hard work. Hard work is good work.”
Obama appeared alongside Harris in her largest rally to date on Thursday, Oct. 25 in DeKalb County’s James R. Hallford Stadium. According to members of the Secret Service, more than 20,000 people attended the event, packing the stadium.
“This is a leader who has spent her life fighting on behalf of people who need a voice, who need a champion,” Obama said. “She actually cares what people are going through, because she’s seen it in her own family, in her own life.”
Both Harris and Obama addressed policy questions, detailing Harris’ plan to reduce the costs of housing, groceries, medication and other necessities, to which the audience cheered.
Who were the speakers?
Actor Samuel L. Johnson and director Spike Lee, graduates of Atlanta’s Morehouse College, as well as actor and producer Tyler Perry took the stage at Harris’ rally to show their support for the presidential candidate. The celebrities encouraged the crowd to do their research and vote early for Kamala Harris.
Musician Bruce Springsteen gave a performance of his songs “Land of Hope and Dreams” and “Dancing in the Dark” while also voicing his support for Harris.
Not only were there multiple celebrities in attendance, but several politicians and public figures also spoke, urging the crowd to get out and vote. Appearances included U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, who both spoke highly of the vice president.
Scoring the Gen Z vote
Since announcing her candidacy in July, Kamala Harris has campaigned hard for the Generation Z vote, urging young voters to register and show up at the polls.
“I’d like to speak in particular to all the young leaders that I see here this evening,” Harris said. “I see you. And to you, I say, you all have grabbed the baton. I’ve seen what you do, and I see how you are doing it, because you are rightly impatient for change.”
Voters between the ages of 18 to 29 participate the least in U.S. elections, on both the local and national levels, according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE). However, youth turnout has been historically high in recent election years, with 50% of young voters participating in the 2020 election.
According to CIRCLE, 40.8 million members of Gen Z are eligible to vote in this year’s election, including 8.3 million newly eligible 18 and 19-year-olds. Some members of Gen Z are even running for state office, including Ashwin Ramaswami, a candidate running for the Georgia Senate. Ramaswami is running for State Senate District 48, which includes Johns Creek, Cumming, Alpharetta and Buford.
“We see the importance of protecting children in schools through gun safety laws, we see that we have to overturn our abortion ban, we need young leadership to do what’s right for the future,” Ramaswami said.
Ramaswami and members of his team said young voters are important because they will inherit the future the current lawmakers create. Another Trump presidency, a member of his team said, will be devastating for young people.
Concerns from the crowd
One main issue people said they were concerned about was reproductive rights, an issue that Harris and Obama addressed throughout their speeches. International security was another topic attendees expressed concern over.
Ella Campbell, a 78-year-old from Copenhagen, Denmark, traveled to the United States to assist the Harris campaign. According to her, a victory for Harris is vital on an international scale.
“If [Trump] wins, he’s going to give Putin whatever he wants,” Campbell said. “And in my country, in Denmark, we have already been asked to prep for a war so that we can take care of ourselves without water, without electricity, without food and drinks for three days. And everybody under 45 has to have the iodine pills ready. That is scary. I am 78 and it’s never happened in my life, and I’m very scared if he should win.”
Some event-goers expressed anxiety over the election results, but still remained optimistic.
“Uh, excited isn’t the word I’d use … I’m nervous,” said Audrey Lux, a Harris voter. “All the polls are saying it’s going to be close, but we’ll see what actually happens. I’m hopeful but nervous, we’ll say.”
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