WEST ALLIS, Wis. (AP) — The battleground state welcomed a roaring crowd of voters. Vice President Kamala Harris On Tuesday, she opened her Democratic political case against former Republican President Donald Trump.
In the November election, he said, “it’s a choice between freedom and chaos.”
“In this campaign, I promise you, I will proudly put my record against him any day of the week,” Harris said. “We believe in a future where every person has the opportunity to not only get by, but to thrive.”
Harris dropped his candidacy for the Milwaukee area Democratic representatives President Joe Biden dropped his re-election bid on Sunday. This is his first campaign rally since he launched his campaign two days ago Biden’s endorsement.
The event reflected a vibrancy that has been absent among Democrats in recent weeks, adding to the $100 million in donations since Sunday afternoon, evidence that Harris remains optimistic about the November election. The vice president also has the support of Democratic officials and political groups, including Congress leaders Charles Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries.
By stopping in Wisconsin, Harris goes into one of the “blue wall” states, along with Michigan and Pennsylvania, that Democrats consider essential to a presidential victory.
The visit comes a week later Republican National Convention Harris is working to sharpen his message against the GOP nominee with more than 100 days until Election Day.
Harris’ state visit was a stark contrast to Biden’s visit on July 6, when he sought to reassure Democrats wary after his troubled performance in the June 27 debate against Donald Trump. Sen. who will be re-elected this year. Tommy Baldwin skipped the Biden event, but he spoke before Harris on Tuesday.
Harris has leaned on her resume as a former district attorney and California attorney general to try to contrast Trump, who is the first former president to be convicted of a felony.
“He’s ready to face this moment because he’s professionally trained to punish a criminal, and unfortunately that’s what Republicans have put forward,” said Sen. Labonza Butler said.
AP reporter Julie Walker reports that Democrats plan to hold a virtual roll call ahead of their convention, backed by Kamala Harris.
Harris took the stage Tuesday to Beyoncé’s anthem “Freedom” from her Lemonade album. He opened by contrasting himself with Trump.
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“I’ve taken on all kinds of criminals. Robbers who abused women. Fraudsters who defrauded consumers. Cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So listen to me, I know the type of Donald Trump,” he said.
Harris pitched his campaign as “people first,” again aiming to contrast Trump, who he says represents special interests and corporations.
He portrayed his rival’s policies as archaic and backward. “We’re not going back,” she said. “I’ll tell you why we’re not going back. Ours is a fight for the future.” He often used Barack Obama during his 2012 re-election campaign to argue against Republican ideology.
Harris’ rapid ascension over the past few days has left him to watch over his running mates, led by Eric Holder, who was attorney general during Barack Obama’s presidency. But his main impact so far is encouraging Democrats.
Before Tuesday’s speech, Diane Walter, 68, of South Milwaukee, said she was glad Harris was the candidate.
“I’ve been a Democrat my whole life,” Walter said. “He’s energizing the party again.”
Devin Humphrey, 21, accompanied his mother Myisha Johnson, 41, and described the vice president as “a great person to look up to.”
“He’s a great representative of the diversity we’re looking for,” he said.
Trump and his campaign quickly turned their attention to Harris and insisted that they were open to the change and that it had not changed their plans.
The former president has nicknamed the vice president “Lynn’ Kamala Harris,” accused him of not being tough enough on crime as a prosecutor, and tried to tie him to the administration’s policies on the border while seeking to make immigration a centerpiece of his campaign. .
But it seems Trump is less pleased to confront a younger vice president than to make his case against an older president. Twice since Biden’s departure, Trump has suggested that ABC News not hold the planned second presidential debate and instead move it to Fox News, which it considers friendly to him.
Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, said he was unimpressed by Trump’s attacks, telling reporters Tuesday, “Is that all he got?”
In addition to Baldwin, Harris was joined by key elected officials in Wisconsin, including Governor Tony Evers, Lt. Governor Sarah Rodriguez, Attorney General Josh Kaul, Secretary of State Sarah Kotlewski and Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wickler. As state labor leaders.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin Republican leaders are labeling Harris a “radical liberal” who has more than most voters in the swing state.
“Kamala Harris’s odds are as bad as Joe Biden’s,” Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Brian Schimming said at a news conference ahead of a Harris event at a high school outside Milwaukee. “So they’re replacing one bad candidate with another bad candidate, hoping that the people of this state and this country won’t notice where he really stands on the issues.”
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Associated Press writer Josh Bogue reports from Washington. AP writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin and Michelle Price in New York contributed.
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