WEST ALLIS, Wis. — In her first public appearance since President Joe Biden announced he was ending his reelection bid, Vice President Kamala Harris touted Wisconsin as an important swing state to an electrifying audience and compared her record as a prosecutor to the felony counts of former President Donald Trump.
“The path to the White House goes through Wisconsin,” Harris said at a rally near Milwaukee on Tuesday. “I will spend the coming weeks continuing to unite our party.”
Harris secured the support of enough Democratic delegates to win the party’s nomination late Monday night.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Gov. Tony Evers joined Harris to start the 105-day “sprint” to the White House.
With chants and roars from the attendees, Harris uplifted her track record of prosecuting predators and big corporations while reminding the audience about Trump’s recent convictions in New York.
“I know Donald Trump’s type,” Harris said. “I will gladly put my record against his any day of the week.”
Harris also said she will build up for the middle class and promised to protect reproductive rights at the rally.
“We trust women to make decisions about our bodies,” Harris said.
Key Wisconsin Democrats including Baldwin and Evers endorsed Harris for the party’s presidential nomination shortly following Biden’s exit from the race. The Biden administration has made numerous campaign visits to Wisconsin in the past year — including a visit in May by Harris — as the state is expected to play a crucial role in the election.
The battle for Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes has been close in recent elections. Trump won the state in 2016 by 22,748 votes against Hillary Clinton, and Biden won Wisconsin by 20,695 votes four years later in 2020.
“We are going to break the glass ceiling, once and for all,” Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski said during the rally. “Our democracy, our future, are all on the line in this election.”
Campaigns are likely to spend millions on TV ads in coming months. In Wisconsin alone, campaigns and their allied political action committees spent a combined $101.5 million during the 2020 race.
The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to take place in Chicago Aug. 19-22.
Ty Javier is a senior staff writer and photographer at The Daily Cardinal. He is an Economics major and has specialized in university and campaign finances, economic policy and transit.
Tomer Ronen is the Features Editor for the Daily Cardinal. He has covered protests, state politics, sports and more. Follow him on Twitter at @TRonen22.
