Blockbuster, star-studded finish to Harris’s campaign – with dark warning from Oprah Winfrey
On the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum, made famous by the Rocky Balboa film franchise, Kamala Harris delivered a blockbuster finish to her campaign.
Harris took to the stage after 11pm, raised her fist into the night sky to the cheers of a 30,000 strong crowd.
On the eve of an election for the ages, she repeated a closing message of hope and unity.
“We finish as we started,” she said, “with optimism, with joy, knowing we the people have the power to shape our future and confront any challenge when we do it together.”
The vice president was led to the speaker’s lectern by Oprah Winfrey, who chose a darker final message, warning that depending on the outcome Americans may not “ever cast a ballot again”.
It was a star-studded evening with an eye-catching stage filled by Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin and Fat Joe, a rapper of Puerto Rican descent who appealed to other Latinos to steer the country away from Donald Trump.
But will the excitement translate to the ballot box? Ryan Richardson, a young woman from Philadelphia, believes so.
“I think Kamala Harris has done more than any person could humanly imagine someone doing in the last 120 odd days,” she says.
“If this is not a moment for the history books, I don’t know what is. The way that she has galvanised voters, across age, across race, across socio-economic spectrum and brought us all to Philadelphia tonight, on the cusp of making history, is truly amazing.”
Harris suggested she had picked the Philadelphia landmark with her own story in mind, calling the steps made famous by Rocky films, “a tribute to those who start as the underdog and climb to victory”.
The Harris team believe she is no longer the underdog, buoyed by early voting data, which suggests women were turning out in big numbers. Polling shows women are backing Harris by a considerable margin.
Outside Harris’s earlier rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where voters are divided between her and Trump, a group of a dozen women chanted her name. “Kam-a-la,” they sang, and danced.
Pat Hillbish was a registered Republican but says she can’t contemplate voting for Trump.
“I’m voting for Kamala,” she said, “because she stands for everything right – truth and justice. And I’m so sick of the hatred.”
In the first election since Roe v Wade was overturned and the constitutional right to choose was removed, reproductive rights is a motivating factor for some voters.
“I certainly hope women turn out to vote for Harris,” said Jean Gerding. “I also hope it’s men, who realise that the government really should not play a part in our decision about abortion.”
Harris did not mention Donald Trump by name at her final rally. She had earlier referred to him only as “the other guy”.
She signed off the shortest of presidential campaigns in Philadelphia, the birthplace of the United States. In the coming hours, the people of this city will determine where the country goes next.
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