Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris campaigned in one of her childhood hometowns Friday evening — Madison, WI — a deep blue community she’s relying on in a big way to win Wisconsin in November.
President Joe Biden carried Wisconsin four years ago by about 20,000 votes over Republican Donald Trump. Harris urged the Madison crowd to reject various plans Trump has announced he’ll implement if he gets back to the White House — such as making major changes to the Affordable Care Act.
Harris linked one of her major campaign themes to Wisconsin’s motto of Forward.
“We will move forward, and just like Wisconsin’s state motto tells us, forward is where we go. Forward is where we go, “ Harris said to cheers from a crowd of more than 10,000 people at the Alliant Center.
The audience at the Alliant Center in Madison stood and cheered as Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage Friday evening.
Harris also spent several minutes criticizing Trump for appointing U.S. Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe vs. Wade protections for abortion rights with the Dobbs ruling of two years ago. Abortions halted in Wisconsin for more than a year until a Dane County judge ruled an 1849 Wisconsin law did not apply to abortions.
The Vice President hushed the enthusiastic Madison crowd as she mentioned, as she has over the last couple of days, the case of a Georgia woman, Amber Nicole Thurman, who died of sepsis after waiting nearly a day for medical help to treat an incomplete medication abortion.
Harris also noted that absentee ballots have started to be sent to many Wisconsin voters.
“The election is basically here, and we have work to do. To energize, to organize, and to mobilize. And, to remind everyone, your vote is your voice,” she said.
Mobilization in Madison and Dane County would be beneficial to Democrats. It’s Wisconsin’s fastest-growing county and largely growing with Democratic voters. Biden defeated Trump by more than 50% points in the county four years ago.
The Harris/Walz campaign is hoping Democratic voters in Madison, combined with blue Milwaukee and wins in some smaller Wisconsin cities, will be enough to carry Wisconsin in November.
Responding to the Harris visit, the Republican National Committee says four years of “wasteful spending” by the Biden/Harris Administration “has driven up costs in the state.”
