Kamala Harris brings presidential campaign to Harrisburg as part of final sprint

Central Pennsylvania Democrats finally had their moment in the presidential spotlight Wednesday, as Vice President Kamala Harris opened the sprint of the final week of her campaign with a drop-in rally with a few thousand enthusiastic friends in Harrisburg.

Make no mistake, this was a business trip.

Other than working the rope line on the way out of the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex, Harris didn’t see any sights or experience any local color.

She did not accept questions from the press, a persistent criticism for her in this campaign.

And none of her large entourage – the Obamas, Bill Clinton, Bruce Springsteen or Beyonce – made the trip.

But Harris, the headliner, finally arrived after four trips by former President Donald J. Trump. And that gave Democrats in the midstate some oxygen as they pursue their unique mission: narrowing the margin of Trump’s projected victory in what is the third-largest bloc of voters in this critical swing state.

“I was honestly very surprised that she came to Harrisburg so close to the election. It really got me excited. I thought I would never be able to go to a rally,” said Jennifer Peisher, a 20-something from Harrisburg, who said this is the second presidential election she has been able to vote in.

Of her support for Harris, Peisher said, “I really appreciate how she looks out for the everyday person, how positive her personality is and how hopeful she presents herself in her campaign.”

Felicia DuPree, 58, of Seven Valleys, York County, expressed hope that the visit will help gather votes for Harris.

“A lot of times when people run for president, they don’t really penetrate into these small towns and small counties, and to see Kamala and Tim Walz caring enough about all these small towns, I think it will reach the people that I want to get to know her,” said DuPree.

DuPree said she has a number of reasons to support Harris, the fight for reproductive rights and preserving democracy.

“Although I’m past the stage of having babies, but reproductive rights for other women. That’s huge. Women lose their lives when they have a miscarriage and they need some form of care, which is huge. I think about other people,” DuPree said. “And then also democracy. We want to preserve our constitution. So that is a concern.”

The stakes

Pennsylvania is the largest of the seven swing states where Electoral College votes are widely expected to play a decisive role in a presidential race that enters its final week as a near dead heat.

As such, every vote in every region of the state matters, especially in South Central Pennsylvania, a reliably Republican region where Democrats have, very slowly, made increasing gains as development has picked up steam.

It is now certainly the third-largest vote share in the state, behind the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh metros, and Democrats’ mission here is to keep former President Donald J. Trump’s margins of victory as low as possible.

Trump defeated Joe Biden by 18.8 percentage points in the region — consisting of Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and York counties — in 2020. That was after a 23 percentage point victory in 2016 over Hilary Clinton.

“In a state where the 2016 election was decided by half a percentage point, and the 2020 election was decided by one percentage point, planting a flag in every part of the state where votes can be earned is very important,” Allison said. Dagnes, professor of political science at Shippensburg University.

“Especially in the suburbs of Harrisburg. That’s probably the only moveable spot in Pennsylvania for Democrats where it’s not quite blue yet, but it’s getting more and more purple than it was… I think it’s very smart for Harris to come here,” Dagnes said.

“We want to further reduce his margin of victory in Cumberland County,” said Matt Roan, chairman of that county’s Democratic Committee. “If she loses Cumberland by five points instead of 11 (Trump’s margin there in 2020), that will go a long way toward a win in Pennsylvania.”

The comments

In her 24-minute speech, Harris delivered largely a mix of other rally speeches and the “closing speech” she delivered in Washington DC on Tuesday evening.

She leaned most heavily on the sharp contrast in leadership style she represents from Trump.

“We know that in this election we have an opportunity to turn the page on a decade in which Donald Trump tried to keep us divided and afraid of each other. That’s who he is. But Pennsylvania, that’s not who we are,” Harris said.

“In less than ninety days, he or I will be in the Oval Office. And here’s the thing. We know that if elected, Donald Trump would walk into that office with a list of enemies. If I am elected, I will come in with a to-do list,” Harris said.

That list, Harris said, includes tax cuts for large numbers of middle- and working-class households, likely offset by higher taxes on high earners and businesses.

The across-the-board tax cut that Congress and Trump approved in 2017 expires at the end of 2025. Trump wants to renew the tax cut and has proposed other tax breaks. Harris has proposed keeping the 2017 tax cuts in place for people making less than $400,000, but ending them for wealthier Americans — and raising taxes on the super-rich. New tax credits would be added for families with children and lower-income households.

Harris also spoke Wednesday about expanding Medicare to cover the cost of home care for seniors who want to continue living in their own homes; and her eagerness to sign a bill codifying a federal right to abortion.

The rally was interrupted several times by protesters: once by what appeared to be Trump supporters who scored tickets to the rally, and later by people protesting what they see as the Biden administration’s lack of efforts on behalf of Palestinians civilians in Gaza.

Harris did not appear upset as supporters shouted them out and they were led out by security, using a phrase she has deployed in the past: “Everyone has the right to be heard. But right now I am speaking.”

After the second episode she added:

“At this particular moment, it must be emphasized that, unlike Donald Trump, I do not believe that people who disagree with me are the enemy within. He wants to put them in jail. I give them a place at the table. And I pledge to be a president for all Americans, always putting country before party and self.”

The crowd responded with a loud chant of “USA!, USA!” until Harris took action to pacify them.

The Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex’s Expo Hall featured Harris/Walz posters, Republicans for Harris signs and, of particular interest this week, Puerto Rican flags.

“We are here to support Kamala Harris. We are here to support our island,” said Persida Hommele, who traveled with friends from her home in Lancaster. She said she wanted to increase outrage among Pennsylvania’s sizable Latino and Puerto Rican population the insult uttered on the island by a warm-up speaker at a Trump rally in New York.

“Kamala Harris cares about our people. Puerto Ricans out there, you have the power to determine this vote,” said Hommele, who waved the red-and-white striped Puerto Rican flag, with its blue triangle and white star. ‘You have the power. You better get your ass out there and vote.”

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden added to the controversy by describing Trump supporters as “trash,” although Biden later tried to clarify that he was trying to criticize the actual words used by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, and not someone who voted for Trump.

Harris told reporters earlier Wednesday before leaving Washington for her first campaign appearance of the day in North Carolina that she accepted Biden’s clarification, adding as a point of emphasis: “I absolutely disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for. ”

Acknowledging that there is still more work to do to perfect our union, Harris nodded specifically to the young people in the crowd late in her speech in Harrisburg, promising to fight hard for the issues they are “rightly impatient” about, including reducing gun violence and tackling the climate. change in a meaningful way.

“This is not political for them. For young leaders, this is their lived experience, and I see you and I see your strength and I am so proud of you.”

Harris concluded with a call for six days of hard work from everyone in the room, concluding with her now famous slogan: “When we fight, we win.”

Clearly, those in the room left with some extra motivation.

The reaction

Lori Ehrlich of York told PennLive that the stylistic contrast between Harris and Trump stands out to her.

“She speaks from her heart. I think he also speaks from his heart, but he has a heart of ice or steel,” said Ehrlich. “He doesn’t care about anyone.”

Alanna Bortolin of York said she wishes more people could hear Harris’ comments in person — especially undecided voters, because “I don’t know how anything she says could be bothersome to people.”

“People who are concerned about economics, personal economics, helping the middle class and the way she specifies how she wants to help the middle class. I think if people heard that message, I don’t see how they could dislike her.”

Hattie McCarter of Lancaster agreed.

“I think they (Harris and vice presidential candidate Tim Walz) should come to power because they believe in humanity. This is not a political game for them. It’s about people. It’s about working American people. It’s about our veterans. It’s about our people with disabilities. It’s about our pride communities. It’s about our people of color.

“Everyone wants the American dream, no matter what that American dream is for you. Ultimately, they want to be happy. People want to know they have someone as president who wants them to be happy and work for them and not against them,” McCarter said.

At 5:30 p.m., the Harris show kicked off at HIA and moved on to another swing state state Capitol, Madison, Wisconsin, for a primetime rally. The big question for midstate Democrats is what kind of imprint her stop here Thursday and beyond will have.

On Wednesday they had hope.

Cumberland County Chairman Roan, who was unable to attend the Harris meeting due to a work commitment, noted that a large number of his fall 2024 volunteers did. And he knows they’re ready to share what they heard.

“It’s like a pep rally. And this gets them excited and ready to go through the tape for the next six days.