In her final scheduled visit to Nevada this election cycle, Vice President Kamala Harris pitched herself as the only candidate fighting to help the working class at rallies in Reno and North Las Vegas, where she was accompanied by Mexican rock band Maná and actress Jennifer Lopez.
In nearly identical speeches lasting about 25 minutes, Harris rehashed a slew of her policies aimed at lowering health care, housing and grocery costs, and characterized her candidacy as a fight for freedom and dignity. About 6,000 people attended the Reno rally, according to the campaign. Crowd numbers for the North Las Vegas rally were not immediately available.
The rallies came five days before Election Day, when initial returns are likely to give a clearer picture as to who will carry Nevada’s six electoral votes; the state could prove critical in determining the next president. Former President Donald Trump also made his final appearance in Nevada on Thursday during a rally in Henderson, and both candidates’ running mates are coming to Las Vegas on Saturday.
Polls have continuously shown Harris and Trump locked in a dead heat for the Silver State, mirroring the neck and neck contests in other battleground states. Registered Republicans have so far outpaced registered Democrats in early voting, but much remains unclear, especially given that registered nonpartisans make up more than a quarter of all votes cast so far. Harris expressed optimism Thursday that she would prevail in the election.
Thursday’s appearance marked Harris’ third time in Nevada — and first stop in Reno — since ascending to the top of the Democratic ticket following President Joe Biden’s departure from the race. She held a rally at Thomas & Mack arena in early August, and another one in downtown Las Vegas in September. She also made several appearances in the Silver State earlier this year as Biden’s running mate.
Before Harris spoke at the outdoor amphitheater at Craig Ranch Regional Park in North Las Vegas, she was preceded by a Maná’s performance, which led to lively dancing in the crowd, and Lopez, who grew emotional as she criticized the racist remarks made at Trump’s rally in New York City over the weekend, including one by a speaker who called Puerto Rico an “island of garbage.”
“It wasn’t just Puerto Ricans who were offended that day,” said Lopez, whose parents were born in Puerto Rico. “It was anyone with humanity … We are Americans.”
In Reno, Harris was interrupted by multiple hecklers — including at least one shouting about the war in Gaza — who were escorted out by security.
Harris rolled with the disruptions, noting that “democracy can be complicated sometimes” and celebrating the U.S. as a country where people are free to speak their minds without fear of imprisonment.
As heckling continued, she vowed to listen to people who disagree with her “because that’s what real leaders do.”
“He wants to put them in jail — I’ll give them a seat at the table,” Harris said.
Here are some key takeaways from Harris’ visit.
Working class emphasis
Bringing down Americans’ cost of living is at the top of her to-do list, Harris said, touting her proposed middle-class tax cut that she said would benefit more than 100 million Americans, as well as tax cuts for small business owners.
She also reminded attendees of her proposal to ban price gouging on groceries — which has some economists skeptical about how much it can truly help Americans — and eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers, an idea first introduced by Trump at a Las Vegas rally in June.
She contrasted those proposals with what she called Trump’s “20 percent national sales tax on everything you buy that is imported,” a reference to his plan to impose a 20 percent tariff on American imports that has received widespread criticism for its projected impact on American consumers.
“We know who Donald Trump is because we all know he is not someone who is thinking about how to make your life better,” Harris said.
She also criticized the Republican plan to make changes to the Affordable Care Act, the landmark health care legislation passed under President Barack Obama.
In response to an attendee asking “No Obamacare?” at a campaign appearance this week, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said “No Obamacare. [It] is so deeply ingrained, we need massive reform to make this work, and we got a lot of ideas on how to do that.”
Johnson later denied saying he would support repealing the law, and the Trump campaign said that he does not support repealing it, though he made multiple failed attempts to do so while president.
Dignity and freedom
As she has throughout the campaign cycle, Harris described her potential presidency as one that would uphold dignity and fight for people’s freedoms.
She leaned into her support of abortion rights — contrasted by how Trump “hand selected” three Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade — and encouraged attendees to support Question 6 on the Nevada ballot, which would be the first step in enshrining abortion rights in the Nevada Constitution.
She also criticized Trump for his recent statement that he would be the protector of women “whether they like it or not.”
“He does not believe women should have authority or agency over their own bodies,” Harris said in Reno.
The idea of freedom was also prevalent among members of Nevada’s congressional delegation who spoke before Harris.
“This is the ‘f around and find out’ election,” Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) said in North Las Vegas. “When they come for our freedoms, we are coming for you”
Harris also centered her pitch around “dignity,” especially in regards to her proposal introduced this month to broaden Medicare coverage to also cover home health care. Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz highlighted it at a Reno rally earlier this month, but this was Harris’ first time mentioning the proposal at a Nevada rally.
“It’s about dignity and it’s about values that you bring to your position of leadership,” Harris said. “We’re done with the idea that the measure of the strength of the leader is based on who you beat down, when we know the real measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up.”
Optimism in the home stretch
In her previous stops in Nevada, Harris emphasized that she remained the underdog in the race — but her tone was different on Thursday.
“Make no mistake. We will win,” Harris said. “We have an opportunity in this election to turn the page on a decade of Donald Trump trying to keep us divided and afraid of each other. We’re done with that. We’re exhausted by it.”
The optimism was on display among attendees.
Stacey Martin drove to the Reno rally from Davis, California, to “cheer on the next president of the United States.”
Martin, who supports Harris for her stance on reproductive rights, isn’t worried how close the race is.
“I’m not concerned,” she said. “She’s got this.”
While Harris was optimistic about the state of the race, Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) acknowledged the early voting turnout numbers in Nevada.
“Republicans are kicking our ass at early voting,” Titus said in North Las Vegas. “We cannot let that happen.”
