Kamala Harris to Arizona: ‘With your help, in 26 days, we will win’

PHOENIX — Vice President Kamala Harris, who is looking to defeat Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential election, rallied a group of approximately 7,000 followers in Arizona with a 25-minute speech on Thursday night.

Harris’ appearance came a day after the start of early voting in Arizona. The general election is Nov. 5.

“Arizona, we have just 26 days until Election Day,” Harris said. “Twenty-six days. And we are nearing the homestretch, and this will be a very tight race until the very end, and we are the underdogs … We have some hard work ahead of us. But we like hard work. With your help, in 26 days, we will win.”

It was the vice president’s third trip to Arizona since July, when she slid into the race after President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid.

Arizona is recognized as one of several critical swing states.

Harris spoke at the U.S.-Mexico border in Douglas last month and rallied at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, in August.

Trump is scheduled to stage a rally at the Findlay Toyota Center in Prescott Valley on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Harris met with Native American youth leaders from across Arizona ahead of her rally on Thursday.

Early in her speech, she acknowledged Hurricane Milton and its brutal impact on sections of Florida and said the Biden-Harris administration would help.

“We will be with you every step of the way as you recover and rebuild,” Harris said. “That is who we are.”

Later, Harris reminded the crowd that Trump has ruled out any more debates with her before the election.

She called it “a disservice to the voters” and “a pretty weak move.”

Harris recapped the key issues surrounding this election, among them: bringing down the cost of living, investing in small businesses, protecting reproductive freedom and keeping the nation secure.

Harris reminded the crowd of Trump’s fondness for Project 2025, a detailed blueprint for the next Republican president.

“I can’t believe they put that in writing,” she said. “They’re out of their minds.”

At one point, Harris encouraged her followers to “make your own healthcare decisions” and vote “yes” on Prop 139, which would establish a fundamental right to abortion.

Harris received loud applause when she spoke of how Arizona Senator John McCain blocked Trump’s attempts to overturn the Affordable Care Act in 2017.

“It required one more vote to keep it intact,” Harris explained. “And that vote was the late, great John McCain, a great American, a war hero.”

During a campaign rally in Chandler, Vice President Kamala Harris referenced Donald Trump’s “concepts of a plan” regarding health care and recalled how the late Sen. John McCain prevented the repeal of the Affordable Care Act pic.twitter.com/nKeK0ruGYJ

— KTAR News 92.3 (@KTAR923) October 11, 2024

Harris punctuated her speech by saying that re-electing Trump would result in “brutally serious” consequences.

“So much is on the line,” Harris said. “Twenty-six days to go. This is not 2016 or 2020. The stakes are even higher. We’ve got to energize, organize and mobilize.”

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