Encouraging young people in Michigan to vote as if their freedoms are at stake in this election was a central part of the messaging during a campaign event for Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, on Monday night in Ann Arbor.
The event at Burns Park featured a performance from 30-year-old singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers.
During her performance, Rogers told the crowd of Harris supporters to “choose the light” by voting, in a nod to one of her songs.
“These are such wild and unprecedented times, and the energy feels so high and the future feels so uncertain, and I don’t always know what to do with that feeling. But there is something, to me, that’s greater than fear. And that’s action,” Rogers said.
Speeches throughout the night characterized freedoms like voting, abortion access, and living in safety as being in jeopardy in this election.
Harris said she loves how younger leaders are “impatient for change."
“For you then, I know that these issues that are at stake. They are not theoretical. This is not political for you. This is your lived experience. And I see you. And I see your power,” Harris said.
The night, in some ways, departed from a trend of some recent Harris speeches where she has attacked her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, at length on his use of some extreme political rhetoric. Instead, she focused mainly on contrasting her plans for the country with her characterization of her opponent’s.
Harris criticized Trump’s economic plan as something that would lead to higher costs and dismantle social safety net programs like the Affordable Care Act.
Harris said beyond that, recent court rulings on presidential immunity mean an important check on Trump’s power would be gone if he wins back the White House.
“We can all see that Donald Trump is even more unstable and even more unhinged and now he wants unchecked power," Harris said, "and this time there will be no one there to stop him."
The Trump campaign responded to the Harris campaign's swing through Michigan by working in their own references to Rogers’ music.
Victoria LaCivita is the spokesperson for Trump’s Michigan efforts.
"Under Kamala Harris and four more years of Kamalanomics, Michiganders won't be able to afford to keep the Lights On," LaCivita's statement said.
"Since Kamala's reign began, electricity has gone up 31.3%. It's not just electricity - Michiganders have suffered over 1,200 Dawns with sky high inflation, open borders, and unaffordable prices - and each one has been worse than the last. Michigan voters are So Sick of Dreaming of a better life, which is why they'll be voting for President Donald J. Trump on November 5th,” the statement continued.
Earlier in the day, Harris met with union members at an International Union of Painters and Allied Trades training center in Warren. That’s as she tries to shore up traditional Democratic voting blocs, including union members.
The Trump campaign has been taking its own steps to build its own support among communities including union workers and Arab Americans.
Harris herself has faced criticism from the latter for her support of Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza. Monday night, she acknowledged the frustration.
“On the subject of Gaza, we all want this war to end as soon as possible and get the hostages out and I will do everything in my power to make it so,” Harris said, in a reference to Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
At a Trump campaign event Saturday, Trump brought to the stage some members of southeast Michigan’s Muslim community to endorse him and say they felt he would do a better job at ending the war.
The back-and-forth fighting over every political inch demonstrates Michigan’s place as a key swing state this year.
With statewide in-person voting already under way, statewide data estimates nearly a quarter of Michigan active voters have already cast a ballot.
