How Democratic women are mobilizing to help Kamala Harris win this key state

On a morning usually reserved for errands, laundry and housework, an army of women cleared their Saturday schedules to join a Zoom call.

More than 800 people participated in the first-ever NC Women for Harris virtual call, riding a wave of enthusiasm that began a week earlier when President Joe Biden announced he was withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the ticket.

But amid the enthusiasm, the women at Saturday’s call recognized that with about 100 days until Election Day, they must be focused and united in their message.

Rhonda Foxx, national engagement director for Women for Harris, told call participants to expect a tight and competitive race between Harris and former President Donald Trump.

More than 270 campaign offices have been set up across the country, with a staff of 1,200 employees and team members focused on helping Harris make history as the 47th president and the first Black woman to hold the nation’s highest office.

“We’re asking everyone who’s motivated by the vice president to take 47 actions for 47. Who are the 47 people you can call today to get involved in our grassroots movement? What’s $47 you could give today or $4.70 you could give to make sure we can continue to build our campaign infrastructure?”

These resources will be needed to pave the way for victory, Foxx said.

Trump and Project 2025 gain renewed attention

U.S. Representative Alma Adams said it was crucial to maintain momentum, but it was also essential to understand the stakes of a second Trump presidency that would introduce many of the ideas detailed in the 2025 Project.

Congresswoman Alma Adams (Zoom call screenshot)

“It’s dangerous,” Adams warned. “It’s going to destroy all the checks and balances that give Trump virtually unlimited power. Call it that. Most people call it Project 2025, but the right name is Project 1825, because that’s where Trump wants to take us back to a time when black people were enslaved in America, a time when women had no rights. And Social Security wasn’t meant to be a benefit for our seniors, and a time when black people didn’t have civil rights, and there were no laws to protect our environment.”

Trump has claimed not to know who is behind Project 2025, despite the fact that dozens of members of his administration — including former chief of staff Mark Meadows — were advisers on the 900-page Heritage Foundation document.

Sen. Rachel Hunt, a Mecklenburg County Democrat running to become North Carolina’s next lieutenant governor, picked up where Rep. Adams left off.

“Trump’s 2025 plan calls for abolishing the Department of Education and will eliminate programs that make education more accessible to students with fewer resources,” Hunt said. “He wants to get rid of Head Start, which would deny low-income families access to quality early learning. Donald Trump would leave millions of public school students who rely on free or reduced-price meals to go hungry.”

Hunt worries that the 2025 bill could also reverse the trend on student debt relief. Hunt’s bill (SB 196) to establish a bill of rights for student loan borrowers was introduced last year and never made it to the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Representative Julie von Haefen (Screenshot from Zoom call)

Rep. Julie von Haefen, recognized as one of the strongest voices for public education in the North Carolina legislature, wanted mothers on the Zoom call to turn their attention to gun violence.

“This is an issue that is near and dear to my heart as a mother of three, especially my children who are growing up in a community where they have had to deal with school shootings their entire lives,” von Haefen said. “I know this is an issue that is on the minds of many women and mothers, but we know that President Trump has repeatedly chosen the gun lobby. He has made the gun epidemic worse by blocking common-sense gun reforms.”

In contrast, Rep. von Haefen said Vice President Harris worked alongside President Biden to pass the most significant bipartisan federal gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years.

Renewed concerns about pre-existing conditions and women’s health

Former state Sen. Terry Van Duyn urged women to think about health care and how it might change if the Affordable Care Act is eliminated.

“Trump’s Project 2025 plan ends health care protections for people with pre-existing conditions,” Van Duyn said. “Before I was a state senator, I worked as an ACA navigator, so I saw firsthand what happens to people when they simply can’t afford to go to the doctor. What Republicans want to do is cruel and immoral, and it’s our job over the next three months to make sure every North Carolinian knows what’s at stake for them and their families. Our health care system is at stake.”

Van Duyn reminded the group that, ultimately, incentives offered by the Biden-Harris administration convinced the North Carolina legislature to expand Medicaid after a decade of deadlock on the issue. In the first six months of Medicaid expansion, more than 500,000 North Carolinians signed up for lifesaving care.

Jenny Black of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic said the election highlights a public health crisis that has stripped women of their right to bodily autonomy, further exacerbating the maternal and infant mortality crisis in the South.

“The entire region is gripped by abortion bans. From Texas to Florida to West Virginia, North Carolina is one of only two states that allows abortion after just six weeks of pregnancy, before women even know they are pregnant.”

Senator Val Applewhite (Photo: NCGA)

Black said the fall election will determine what that care looks like in the future.

Door-to-door struggle until election day

Sen. Val Applewhite, a Cumberland County veteran, reminded women that veterans’ health is also at stake in November, crediting the current administration with passing the PACT Act and creating more jobs for military families and spouses.

Trump’s campaign team used Harris’ first week on the campaign trail to attack her on inflation and border security, calling her “the most incompetent and left-wing vice president in American history.”

To preserve policies that matter to women, Sen. Applewhite said progressive women should prepare for a real fight leading up to Election Day.

In the 2020 presidential race, Trump defeated Joe Biden in North Carolina by more than 74,000 votes.

“It’s going to be a door-to-door fight, it’s going to be in the gutter, in the street, and I’ve never backed down from a fight.”

Applewhite encouraged Harris supporters to pull out their cell phones, find all their friends and family members, and then go to the state election board website.

“We need to check to see if they are registered to vote, if they are active, that’s what we need to do and get them information because the North Carolina legislature is trying to make it very difficult for them to vote,” she warned. “We need to make sure they are ready to vote.”

NC Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. NC Newsline maintains its editorial independence. Contact Editor Rob Schofield with questions: [email protected]. Follow NC Newsline on Facebook and X.