Kamala Harris tells Michigan State campus crowd ‘We have the momentum’ in final push to fire up young voters after shock Iowa poll gives her heartland hopes

Vice President Kamala Harris energized a crowd of young voters on the Michigan State University Campus Sunday night after a shock poll from Iowa gave her hope she could find a path to victory fueled by female voters.

“We have momentum on our side, can you feel it?” she told thousands of screaming student voters at the Jenison Field House on the East Lansing campus.

She nodded to a campus hero when she called it “my dear friend Magic Johnson’s house – Go Green!” mentioned.

And in recognition of a challenge that has haunted her candidacy like President Biden’s, she spoke at length about the Middle East at the top of her remarks. That allowed her to get an edge on potential protesters and disruptions.

She called out leaders of the Arab-American community “which has deep and proud roots here in Michigan,” adding, “This year has been difficult given the scale of death and destruction in Gaza.”

She said that as president she would “do everything in my power to end the war in Gaza” – to which she was loudly cheered in the room – and also “bring the hostages home, end the suffering in Gaza, would ensure that Israel is safe’ and would ensure that Israel would be safe. “The Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, freedom, security and self-determination.”

Harris managed to get through the speech without any major protests – although one man shouted ‘Cease fire!’ shouted. right after she announced “Gen Z” and told student leaders, “I see you and I see your power.”

Democrats traditionally have the edge among young voters, but the Harris camp has had to study troubling surveys showing erosion of the group in battleground Michigan — a state that is key to its most plausible path to victory .

At the same time, she must contend with concerns about a shift among some Arab-American and Muslim voters toward Donald Trump amid anger over Israel’s war in Gaza.

Late polls show a large gender gap, with Harris having the highest score among women and Trump with a large lead among men.

One of her biggest statements in East Lansing came when she spoke about abortion and the “fundamental” a woman’s freedom to make decisions about her own body.’

Harris had already collected the vote of Daphne Ruby, a 21-year-old fourth-year student. “Honestly, it was just very calming… I feel like we all agree on one thing and that’s like we want something better for our country,” she said.

Harris spoke about the importance of young voters on the last day of early voting in Michigan

Supporters react as Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at Jenison Field House

“You are all right to be impatient for change,” Harris told Gen Z voters in one of her stock lines. “I see you and I see your strength,” she said

Brooke Racine, 19, a first-time voter from Lake Orion, liked Harris’ handling of the Gaza issue. “She didn’t really say much about it, so I’m glad she spoke up first about the issue, noting that a lot of students are concerned about the issue.

“I think it was really important that she said it here, and said it so clearly,” she said.

With just two days before Election Day, it was a day of demographic strategy for the Harris campaign.

The campaign said there were 7,000 people in the arena, with even more outside in an overflow area.

Harris’ optimism came on a day when some encouraging polls came in for her.

But she has the narrowest lead in battleground Michigan and Wisconsin, while in Pennsylvania Trump has a narrow margin in the RealClearPolitics average.

Harris started her day in Detroit, where she visited a black church just hours after her surprise trip to appear in ‘Saturday evening live‘ – in an attempt to get as much attention as possible on TV.

She later visited a predominantly black barbershop in Pontiac, Michigan. a crucial battleground where Joe Biden won with 56 percent of the vote in 2020.

Vice President Kamala Harris toured the state of Michigan on Sunday

Harris spoke to start the day at Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ in Detroit

Harris rallied students from Michigan State University, days after he rallied students from the University of Michigan. They gathered at the Jenison Field House, where Magic Johnson once powered the Spartans

She also stopped by Kuzzo’s Chicken and Waffles in Detroit’s Livernois neighborhood — in the final hours of a campaign that began with Trump’s play questioning her racial identity.

Those stops were intended to underscore the importance of African-American voters turning out to vote, in a race in which Trump has eaten away at the traditional lead among black and Hispanic men.

“As a nation we face real challenges, we bear real burdens. We feel real pain, and we must remember that faith, combined with our actions, gives us strength, the power to overcome division, fear and chaos, the power to do justice, to love mercy and to live humbly with our God walking,” she said. , speaking at Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ in Detroit.

“And the power to fulfill the promise of America, the promise of freedom and opportunity, not just for some, but for all,” she said in a city with a long history of direct action on labor and civil rights.

“So church, we have two days, two days before we decide the fate of our nation,” she said.

The shocking Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll saw Harris leading Trump 47-44 in Iowa, a state that hasn’t been competitive in a November presidential race for years.