Harris Works to Boost Support from Black and Latino Voters in Philadelphia

The Washington Post / Tyler Pager

12:21 JST, October 28, 2024

PHILADELPHIA – Vice President Kamala Harris spent Sunday crisscrossing Philadelphia, focusing on reaching Black and Latino voters, and hoping to boost turnout in the Democratic stronghold just nine days before Election Day.

“Philadelphia is a very important part of our path to victory, and it is the reason I’m spending time here,” she told reporters. “But I’m feeling very optimistic about the enthusiasm that’s here and the commitment from folks of every background.”

After three days of massive rallies and celebrity guests, including Barack and Michelle Obama, Bruce Springsteen and Beyoncé, Harris spent most of Sunday in much smaller settings – a church, a barbershop, a bookstore and a Puerto Rican restaurant. She concluded the visit with a rally at a youth basketball facility in North Philadelphia.

At Freddy and Tony’s Restaurant, Harris discussed her new agenda for Puerto Rico focused on strengthening the economy, rebuilding the power grid and improving health care on the island. Pennsylvania is home to one of the country’s largest populations of Puerto Ricans – more than half of the state’s roughly 579,000 eligible Latino voters in the state are of Puerto Rican descent, according to the Latino Data Hub.

“This is not a new area of focus for me,” she said, recounting her trip to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria in 2017 as a U.S. senator from California.

Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican superstar whose endorsement is heavily coveted, shared Harris’s plan for the island on his Instagram account, which is followed by more than 45 million people. The Harris campaign quickly touted it, while noting that roughly 80 miles north, Tony Hinchcliffe, host of the “Kill Tony” comedy podcast, called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage,” while speaking at Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Actress and pop superstar Jennifer Lopez also shared Harris’s plan to her 250 million followers on Instagram.

After spending much of the last few months framing herself as the underdog in the race, Harris also struck a more confident tone Sunday, repeatedly telling her supporters she will prevail over the Republican nominee and former president.

“Make no mistake, we will win,” she said.

Her comments were echoed by her campaign chair, Jen O’Malley Dillon, who said on MSNBC on Sunday that the campaign has been heartened by early voting data. “We are on track to win this thing,” she said.

But Harris still spent much of the day urging people to get involved by knocking doors, calling potential voters and reaching out to family and friends to warn about the stakes of the election. While speaking at the Church of Christian Compassion in West Philadelphia, Harris drew on Scripture to underscore her argument.

“In just nine days, we have the power to decide the fate of our nation for generations to come,” she said. Referencing Paul the apostle, she added, “As we look ahead to a moment that will define the very character of our nation, I do believe Paul’s message holds great urgency. As a nation, we face real challenges.”

After speaking at the church, she stopped by Philly Cuts, a barbershop, to speak with young Black men. In a conversation moderated by Pennsylvania state Rep. Jordan Harris, the vice president discussed a range of issues including student debt and teacher pay.

The barbers then brought Harris to the back of the shop to sit in what they called the “lucky chair” – informing the vice president that every candidate running for elected office who has sat in the chair has won their race.

She then visited Hakim’s Bookstore and Gift Shop, which specializes in books by and about African Americans, with Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker. Harris asked for book recommendations for an 8-year-old and a 6-year-old – the ages of her grandnieces.

“Victory runs through Philly,” Harris said while in the store. “It runs through Pennsylvania.”

The Harris campaign also launched a new television ad Sunday, called “Philly vs. Trump,” aiming to remind voters about the negative comments the former president has made about Philadelphia. The ad ran during Sunday’s football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cincinnati Bengals.

“Philly tough is different,” the narrator says. “They insult us. They don’t like us. We don’t care,”

Trump’s campaign also ran an ad, titled “Never Quit,” during the game. The two-minute ad centers on Trump’s oft-repeated promises to rein in inflation and secure the border, featuring video of Trump standing up after he was shot in the ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. It then features video of Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White saying, “President Trump is literally putting his life on the line and he’s willing to risk it all because he loves this country.”

Harris’s visit to Pennsylvania on Sunday marked her third time in the state since Monday, when she campaigned in the suburbs of Philadelphia with former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney. She returned to the state Wednesday to participate in a CNN town hall, before traveling to Georgia, Texas and Michigan. She will return to Pennsylvania again Wednesday, on a day she is also scheduled to campaign in North Carolina and Wisconsin. The visits are part of an effort by Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, to barnstorm the seven battleground states in the closing days of the campaign.

On Tuesday, though, Harris will be in Washington to deliver what aides say is her “closing argument” speech from the Ellipse, located just behind the White House. It is the same place Trump, as president, spoke on Jan. 6, 2021, and urged his supporters to march to the Capitol while Congress was certifying the election results. The Trump mob stormed the Capitol, disrupting the congressional proceedings, assaulting more than 140 police officers and damaging and destroying government property.

“I’m doing it there because I think it’s very important for the American people to see and think about who will be occupying that space on January 20th,” Harris said in an interview with CBS News. “This is a real scenario. It’s either going to be Donald Trump or it’s going to be me sitting behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.”