Vice President Kamala Harris hosted her first rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, launching her campaign as the Democratic Party’s new likely presidential nominee.
“The path to the White House goes through Wisconsin,” she told the cheering crowd.
“And to win in Wisconsin, we are counting on you.”
Highlighting her career as a prosecutor and her commitments to “building up” the middle class, passing gun control laws, and securing abortion-access legislation through Congress, Ms. Harris promised to “unite” the Democratic Party and “win in November.”
“This campaign is also about two different visions for our nation, one where we are focused on the future; the other focused on the past,” she said.
“We believe in a future where every person has the opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead. A future where no child has to grow up in poverty, where every worker has the freedom to join a union, where every person has affordable health care, affordable child care, and paid family leave.”
In two days since President Joe Biden pulled out of the 2024 race, Ms. Harris has secured key endorsements from party leaders, acquired pledged delegates the president won during the state primaries and caucuses, and established a campaign team to take on the Trump–Vance ticket in November.
Many top Democrats, including the president, have rallied around Ms. Harris as the new likely party nominee.
Several state delegations met late Monday to confirm their support for Ms. Harris, including Texas and her home state of California.
By Monday night, the vice president had the support of at least 2,574 delegates, according to an Epoch Times tally of delegates—more than the 1,976 majority of delegates she’ll need to win on a first ballot.
Those delegates, however, still have until the convention to lock in their votes before a candidate rises as the official nominee of the Democratic Party.
Ms. Harris has also received nods from Democratic Party elites, including former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She also broke a 24-hour fundraising record within the first day of her campaign.
“We just had the best 24 hours of grassroots fundraising in presidential campaign history because we are a people-powered campaign. That is how you know we will be a people-first presidency,” she added.
She emphasized strengthening the middle class as a “defining goal” of her potential presidency, contrasting it with her interpretation of former President Donald Trump’s economic vision.
Ms. Harris also pledged to work with lawmakers to pass legislation ensuring abortion access nationwide, promising to sign a bill into law if Congress sends one to her desk.
The vice president also said she believes in a future where “every senior can retire with dignity,” touted her work taking on financial interests as California’s attorney general, and laid the groundwork for the coming months between now and Nov. 5.
Presidential Endorsement
Ms. Harris thanked President Biden for his endorsement after the president pulled out of the race on Sunday.“I know we are all deeply, deeply grateful for his continuing service to our nation, and it is my great honor to have Joe Biden’s endorsement in this race,” she said.
“Joe’s legacy of accomplishment over his entire career and over the past three and a half years is unmatched in modern history in one term.”
The vice president’s choice to kick off her campaign in Wisconsin reflects the state’s status as a battleground in the presidential race, as she noted early in her speech.
President Biden won Wisconsin in 2020 by less than one percent after former President Trump carried the state by a similar margin in 2016.
As she concluded her remarks, the vice president acknowledged the tough road her campaign faces on the path to victory in November.
She said the campaign should focus on making phone calls, knocking on doors, and registering voters.
“Now, Wisconsin, today, I ask you, are you ready to get to work? Do we believe in freedom? Do we believe in opportunity? Do we believe in the promise of America? And are we ready to fight for it?
“And when we fight, we win.”
