MADISON, Wis. — As the campaigns make their closing arguments, Vice President Kamala Harris used her eighth trip to Wisconsin since entering the presidential race to reach out to the youngest generation of voters with the hopes they get out and cast their ballot early.
With more students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison than the margin of victory in four of the last six presidential races, Wednesday’s rally and concert at Alliant Energy Center was meant to drive election turnout, especially among younger voters.
“I see the promise of America in all the young leaders who are voting for the first time,” Harris said to the crowd. “And I love your generation — I just love you guys. And let me tell you why, let me tell you why — one of the reasons is you all are rightly impatient for change, rightly.”
As part of her closing arguments, Harris took on an optimistic tone and she compared her vision for the next four years to that of her opponent former President Donald Trump.
“I know we can make progress, and I pledge, then, to listen to experts, to those who will be impacted by the decisions I make, and to people who disagree with me, because look, unlike Donald Trump I don’t believe people who disagree with me are the enemy. He wants to put them in jail, I’ll give them a seat at my table,” Harris said.
The vice president had some help making her case, including from musician Gracie Abrams.
“The truth is our participation, and our vote, have never been more crucial,” Abrams said before performing.
Mumford & Sons, Remi Wolf and The National’s Matt Berninger and Aaron Dessner also shared the stage before Ty Schanhofer, a student at UW-Madison, introduced Harris.
“We have the power to choose a different future. We’ve got a candidate who has a plan to take on student debt, to protect kids from gun violence, and to ensure that everybody has the freedom to make their own health care decisions,” Schanhofer said.
Harris hopes that kind of message will now get Gen Z to the polls.
“It is time for a new generation of leadership in America, and I am ready to offer that leadership as the next president of the United States,” Harris said.
Wednesday night’s rally was the third event the Harris-Walz campaign has held at the Alliant Energy Center in Dane County, which is the fastest-growing county in the state.
Harris will return to the Badger State on Friday to close out her campaign with events in Appleton and Milwaukee.