Kamala Harris ends her campaign in Philadelphia with an optimistic message: “Yes, she can”

In front of the ladder symbol of resistance, Kamala Harris ended her campaign this Monday with a call for the unity of the country, a promise to find “common ground” and a message of optimism.

Harris spoke in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s so-called “Rocky Steps,” famous because fictional boxer Rocky Balboa trains here. This place is one of the symbols of the city and unexpected victory after hard work. “This is a tribute to the people who started from behind and won,” the Democratic nominee said. In the background, a banner with the message “one president for all” (“One President for All”).

“I promise you I will look for common ground, I promise I will listen to those affected by my decisions, I promise I will listen to the experts, I promise I will listen to those I will listen to those who disagree with me, because I do not believe that those who disagree with me are my enemies,” he said.

In a speech in which she avoided mentioning her opponent, Harris focused on “the opportunity to turn the page after a decade of hatred and division.” “We are starting with optimism, with energy, ending with joy, knowing that people have the power to design our future and that together we can face any challenge,” he said. Can.” “We are the promise of America…we are all in this together.”

In an atmosphere of tension and excitement on the eve of Election Day, rapper Will.i.am, singer and songwriter of the Black Eyed Peas, sang a new song dedicated to Harris: “yes he can” (“Yes she can”). Encouraged by Oprah Winfrey, thousands of people chanted “Yes, she can”, reminiscent of Barack Obama’s campaign slogan in the 2008 presidential election: “Yes, she can.”

Despite the trend toward Harris in the final days of the campaign, polls now show a very tight race and the lead is still within the polling’s normal margin of error. Pennsylvania is a state considered particularly important because of how divided it is and how much weight it carries in terms of Electoral College votes, the total of which must reach 270 to win the White House. This is especially important for Harris: No Democratic candidate since Harry Truman in 1948 has reached the White House without winning this state.

Kamala knocks on your door

The Vice President spent the day touring Pennsylvania, including knocking on doors to get out the vote and eating at the Old San Juan Café, a Puerto Rican restaurant in Reading. “I’m very hungry. I don’t get a chance to eat as often as I’d like,” Harris said.

Nearly half a million Puerto Ricans live in Pennsylvania, a key population of the state, which was decided by 81,000 votes in Biden’s favor in the 2020 presidential election.

More than 60% of Hispanic voters in Pennsylvania support Harris, according to a Univision poll, and a comedian’s comment at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally that Puerto Rico is “a trash island” has been a motivating issue.

Harris arrived in Philadelphia around midnight, where about 30,000 people had been waiting for her for hours on a cool autumn night punctuated by speeches and music from Ricky Martin and Lady Gaga and rallies in six other key states. The mood fluctuated between excitement and nervousness over the close election in a battle of two opposites in style and substance.

what did you see

“There is a lot at stake in these elections. I’m especially concerned about our reproductive freedom, climate change, responsible gun ownership, tax cuts for billionaires… That’s going to help the middle class,” Maya Fuentes, a young engineer specializing in data security. She says. “As a Black woman, it’s also important for me to support potentially the first president who is also a Black woman. You can’t be what you can’t see. And he’s a reminder to me and everyone else that we can move forward like him.”

Fuentes points out that her father is Puerto Rican and that the difference between Harris’s plans for Puerto Rico and “Madison Square Garden” is also important to her (“There’s no need to explain it now,” she comments). She says her father does not feel “as strongly” about what is at stake as she does and that she has had “uncomfortable conversations” with some family members and friends who do not share her opinion. We do. “Of course, this has caused some debate. But at the same time, there were some people who did not vote and I convinced one or two to do so. “It matters because every vote counts.”

She says she has never been involved in an election like this year, although she has previously participated in call-in sessions and door-to-door canvassing to encourage participation. Fuentes describes herself as “concerned” but hopeful.

nervousness and optimism

The nervous mood is reiterated by asking followers, the most active minority, who have waited for hours.

“I’m a little scared, but now seeing so many people around me makes me feel better,” says Violet Perloff, a 19-year-old college student who is voting for the first time this election and is from Philadelphia.

Women’s and immigrants’ rights have been reiterated among the issues most motivating to those awaiting Harris tonight. Besides, the sentiments regarding the elections also seem different. There are some nerves, some appeals to divine intervention and even optimism.

“We are the city where democracy began and democracy will vote,” says Israeli-American developer and designer Tal Tige, who has brought his 12-year-old daughter, Nina, and an equally young classmate, Ella, from Central City . A small town outside Philadelphia. “This is going to be a great moment for us,” she says, pointing to two girls. “I feel good, I believe that women in this country will make it and move forward.”