VP Kamala Harris launches post-debate tour in NC as ‘underdog’ in presidential race

The 2024 election is a “fight for our future,” Vice President Kamala Harris declared in North Carolina Thursday as she looked to cement herself as the forward-thinking candidate and “the underdog” in the race.

Harris addressed a crowd of thousands at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte Thursday afternoon, her first campaign appearance since her first presidential debate against Trump. She held a second rally later Thursday in Greensboro, again drawing thousands of supporters.

It’s part of her campaign’s post-debate “New Way Forward Tour,” which will also include events in other swing states through the weekend featuring Harris, her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and their spouses.

In both cities, the Democratic nominee touched on familiar themes from her debate appearance and the Democratic National Convention: abortion access, her economic policies and the need to reach across party lines in a “very tight race.”

“Understand that we are the underdog,” said Harris, who’s built a narrow lead nationwide and in some critical states since taking over the Democratic ticket.

Harris leans in on economic proposals, abortion and Trump

Harris on Thursday touted the support she’s received from officials in previous Republican administrations, including former Vice President Dick Cheney. She said it’s a sign of what a second Trump administration would mean for the country — particularly after a Supreme Court ruling that shook up the legal precedent on presidential immunity.

“Across our nation we are witnessing a full-on assault on other hard-fought, hard-won fundamental freedoms, like the freedom to vote, the freedom to be safe from gun violence, the freedom to breathe clear air and drink clean water, and the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride,” she said.

As the Charlotte crowd periodically interrupted with chants of “we’re not going back,” Harris said she represents a new generation of leadership — a contrast to criticism that Republicans use against her. Hours before her rally in Charlotte, Republicans used a news release to say she has “no vision, no solutions and no answers on how she’d be different” from President Joe Biden.

Khadijah Barry, a 19-year-old student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, an HBCU, said she was inspired by Harris’ historic campaign.

“I think it’s just a great time to be alive, the excitement of seeing (potentially) the first Black female president,” she said as she waited for the rally in Greensboro to begin. “I see myself getting into politics and one day running for president, so I see this as monumental.”

If elected, Harris said she would work with Congress to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, an assault weapons ban and legislation to reinstate the protections for abortion that existed before the landmark case Roe v. Wade was overturned.

Harris pointed out Trump’s comment during the debate that he has “concepts of a plan” for what he’d replace the Affordable Care Act with if he repealed it — a moment that’s taken off as a meme.

On the economy, she reiterated her proposals to give small businesses start-ups a $50,000 tax credit and expand the child tax credit for some families. She pledged to “cut red tape and work with the private sector to build 3 million new homes” in her first term to address a housing shortage.

“I will always put the middle class and working families first — I know where I came from,” Harris said, speaking about her own mother, who she said saved up to buy her family’s first home.

Harris also highlighted a report from Goldman Sachs economists released earlier this month that said the U.S. economy would see a bigger boost if she were elected than Trump. The report said Trump’s plans to increase tariffs and crackdown on immigration would slow economic growth, according to Reuters.

Attendee Peggy Thomas said Harris has articulated her policies well during the campaign.

“I think she did a good job of giving us a basic outline,” she said of Harris’s economic plan. Thomas said she’d rather a candidate be less specific and let their views evolve over time than make “false promises.”

“It’s hard to go in-depth on things until you are in a situation … What I am impressed by is your ability to learn and grow,” she said.

Fellow attendee Milton Mathis said Harris represents “moving forward.” Harris cares about middle class families, he said, but he would like to hear more about her plans to improve access to child care.

“I’ve got grandkids … That’s important,” he said.

State of the presidential race

In both cities, Harris said she’d like to debate Trump again, but the former president said on social media he won’t participate in another debate. A CNN instant survey found 63% of debate watchers felt Harris won to Trump’s 37%. That’s a bigger-than-average margin of victory than past candidates have notched, according to data released by CNN.

Trump leads by just one-tenth of a percent in the Tar Heel State, and Harris’s national lead is just 1.5%, according to the latest RealClearPolitics’ averages.

Polling analyst Nate Silver now considers North Carolina the second-most likely “tipping point state” in the presidential election. Democrats haven’t carried the state since 2008, but Trump posted his slimmest margin of victory in any state here in 2020.