Kamala Harris predicted victory in Tuesday’s presidential election, but told a celebrity-filled, final 2024 campaign rally in Philadelphia this evening that “this could be one of the closest races in history.”
“Every single vote matters,” Harris said, reflecting the sense of cautious optimism of her campaign.
Speaking from the Rocky steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Harris noted that the location was a “tribute to those who start as the underdog and climb to victory.”
An estimated 30,000 were at the rally, which featured a performance by Ricky Martin, among others, as well as a brief appearance by Lady Gaga, who sang God Bless America.
“Tomorrow, women will be a part of making this decision,” Gaga said. “Today, I am holding in my heart all the tough, tenacious women who made me who I am.”
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Gaga also performed for Joe Biden’s final rally in 2020, held in Pittsburgh. Earlier, Katy Perry, D-Nice and Andra Day performed at a Harris rally in the city.
Harris’ final rally in Philadelphia had some shades of Obama ’08, as Oprah Winfrey spoke, and Will.i.Am presented Yes, She Can, a new version of his Yes, We Can video.
“We are voting for healing over hate,” Winfrey said.
Winfrey, though, cast the election in existential terms.
“We don’t get to sit this one out. If we don’t show up tomorrow, it is entirely possible that we will not have the opportunity to ever cast a ballot again,” she said.
At various points, the rally beamed in a concurrent event in Detroit, where Jon Bon Jovi and The War and Treaty performed and Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz, spoke. He said that on Tuesday, women would be sending a message to Donald Trump “whether he likes it or not.” The Harris campaign last week seized on Trump’s remark that he would be a “protector of women” whether they “like it or not.”
Harris did not mention Trump in her remarks, telling the crowd, estimated at 30,000, that “tonight, we finish as we started with optimism, with energy, with joy, knowing that we the people have the power to shape our future.”
Trump was finishing up his campaign in Grand Rapids, MI, where speakers included Doug Burgum and Ric Grenell. The former president, though, was running late and not expected to appear until after midnight.
Harris is returning to Washington, D.C. this evening, and plans to do some radio interviews on Election Day. The campaign also enlisted celebrities to appear at a host of other events today, including Christina Aguilera, who performed at a Las Vegas rally.
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