Vice President Kamala Harris held her first public event with Tim Walz in Philadelphia on Aug. 6, hours after announcing the Minnesota governor would be her new running mate. The Temple University Liacouras Center stadium, which accommodates 10,000, was packed at capacity with a diverse range of Harris supporters, including many young people of color energized by the presidential candidate whom the Democratic National Committee formally voted in just the night before.  

Harris’ decision to select Walz over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was facing heavy criticism over past disparaging comments about Palestinians, offered relief to some voters.

“It was a very smart choice, and I am actually happy that she listened to a lot of people who weren’t enthused with other candidates because of the big issue right now that’s happening in Israel,” said rally attendee Monique Robinson, who signed up to volunteer with the campaign after attending a Zoom call for Harris soon after she announced she was running. 

The move was also welcomed by education and labor rights advocates who praised Walz’s record on such issues. Several labor unions, including the United Auto Workers, the AFL-CIO, and the American Federation of Government Employees, lauded her decision and formally endorsed the Harris-Walz ticket.  

The National Education Association (NEA), the largest labor union in America, shared in a statement that “educators are fired up and united to get out and elect the Harris-Walz ticket.” The group cited Walz’s past work as a high school teacher, support for Minnesota public schools, and success in passing legislation to provide free school meals to every Minnesota student, to increase education spending, and to raise teacher salaries as fuel for its swift endorsement. The NEA also outlined the stakes in the election for its 3 million members. 

“Trump’s extreme, unprecedented Project 2025 agenda would fundamentally alter the American government and jeopardize our children’s futures and give Trump unprecedented power over our daily lives. He wants to ban books, take learning opportunities away from students, make educators pay more in taxes than billionaires, and eliminate the U.S. Department of Education,” Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, wrote in the statement. “The choice in this election couldn’t be more clear.” 

Israel genocide remains an issue

Organizers pushing the Biden-Harris administration to end military aid to Israel and calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza have proven instrumental in shaping Harris’ choice of running mate. 

The Abandon Biden campaign applauded those who helped shape Harris’ appointment of Walz through their open criticisms of Shapiro but noted in a statement that “victory is not upon us until the genocide comes to an end.” 

“While the pick of Walz has invigorated the Democratic base, our concern—moving forward—is that the party and the campaign are relying more on the appearance of change rather than any actual plan for it,” the group said. 

In a statement to Prism, March on DNC 2024, a group leading a protest at the Democratic National Convention later this month shared similar sentiments.  

“It doesn’t matter who is at the top of the ticket because there is still a genocide happening in Palestine, and the Democratic Party leadership who will be at the DNC—who Biden, Harris, Walz are representatives of—are responsible for that genocide,” said organizers. “So we will still be marching on the DNC in the tens of thousands to stand with Palestine, to demand an end to the genocide, and to end U.S. aid to Israel.”

Prior to a Harris-Walz rally in Detroit Wednesday, two organizers with the Uncommitted campaign reportedly spoke with Harris and Walz to discuss their demands for both an arms embargo and a ceasefire. However, on Thursday morning, Harris’ National Security Adviser, Phil Gordon, shared via a post on X that while the vice president will “continue to work to protect civilians in Gaza,” she “does not support an arms embargo on Israel.”

Later at the rally, Harris chastised protesters who disrupted her speech, after initially acknowledging them. “You know what? If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking,” she said.

In a new statement on Thursday, the Abandon Biden campaign said, “What Harris did show us last night, with her actions, was disdain for citizens of this country who are pleading for an end to a genocide.” 

Harris took a different approach when protesters disrupted a rally in Arizona on Friday, pausing her speech to talk about “respecting the voices” of protesters and calling for a ceasefire and hostage deal.

A keystone state

Harris’ Philadelphia rally marked the first stop in a series of rallies in swing states across the country, including Detroit; Phoenix; Las Vegas; and Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Pennsylvania, coined the “keystone” state in presidential elections, in part due to the wide diversity of its electorate, is of particular importance to both candidates. While voters in Philadelphia are largely liberal on most issues, rural Pennsylvania voters tend to lean conservative.

Earlier the same day as Harris’ rally, Trump running mate J.D. Vance held a rally of his own in South Philadelphia to a sparse crowd of roughly 200. While Vance spoke of immigration policies, referring to Harris as the “Border Czar,” he focused mainly on the opioid crisis that has seized Philadelphia in recent years. Prior to his speech, he introduced three Philadelphia residents with family members who were struggling with or had died due to their dependence on opioids. Vance attributed the opioid crisis to the Biden-Harris administration’s “disastrous” policies. 

In 2016, Trump won Pennsylvania. Four years later, Biden won back the state in a slim margin of 50% to 48.8%, meaning that Trump won a higher percentage of the vote in Pennsylvania than he did nationwide. Still, in Philadelphia, the state’s largest city, Biden secured more than 80% of votes in 2020, an overwhelming base of support that was reflected by rally attendees’ enthusiastic reception of Harris on Aug. 6. 

“Fight for our future”

Following an introduction from Shapiro, Harris greeted the crowd, describing herself and Walz as “underdogs” with momentum. Harris juxtaposed her own background as a district attorney and courtroom prosecutor against Trump’s recent felony conviction. “I know Donald Trump’s type,” the vice president said to a cheering crowd. 

Harris framed her ticket as a “fight for our future,” particularly preserving voting rights, women’s reproductive freedom, and paid family leave. 

Those concerns around access to abortion were among the top issues that supporters said energized and compelled them to attend the Tuesday rally. 

“I want to fix the taxes and also keep abortion safe, not allowing it to become illegal,” said attendee Bria Ricks. “It’s crazy that they feel like they can tell us what to do with our bodies.”

During his speech, Walz shared his commitment to also protecting family planning options such as IVF, citing it as a personally significant issue for him given the difficulties he and his wife experienced when trying to conceive. 

Harris repeatedly highlighted both her and Walz’s middle class roots as evidence of their commitment to address inflation, protect the Affordable Care Act and make access to first-time homeownership a more tangible reality. 

Attendee Kim Casimir said concerns around taxes and inflation and the historic moment of having a woman of color running for president were why she decided to show up for Harris.   

“When Biden dropped out and then endorsed her, I had very low hopes,” said Casimir. “But now the fact of how much money she raised, how many people are out here right now, it’s like she really could definitely have a chance, like she could truly make history.”

In late July, just three Zoom calls alone hosted by “White women: Answer the Call,” “White Dudes for Harris,” and the group that began this fundraising trend, “Win with Black Women,” raised $16 million for the Harris campaign.

“That’s what is baffling my mind,” Casimir said, “how fast people came together to really make this happen.”