It was a long night before what was expected to be a very long election day.
The Democrats’ “Vote Freedom” rally and concert, which culminated with Vice President Kamala Harris hugging Oprah Winfrey near midnight, gathered approximately 30,00 people to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at the foot of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It started at 5 p.m. and lasted until midnight. Luckily it was a pleasant 50 degree evening.
Lady Gaga, The Roots, Ricky Martin and DJ Cassidy performed at the event with speeches by Oprah, Fat Joe and Philadelphia DJ Jazzy Jeff. Harris arrived later than expected after she and her husband, Doug Emhoff, flew into town from an earlier rally in Pittsburgh.
Philadelphia is a key source of votes for the vice president, and turnout in the city could determine who wins the White House. Harris visited Philadelphia frequently in the weeks leading up to the vote count. Former President Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance were also in the region on Monday.
During the event, Billy Penn spoke to people to gauge their mood and hopes. WHYY’s Carmen Russell Sluchansky was also there presents such an overview of the event.
The Upper Darby councilor feels confident about Harris
Upper Darby Councilwoman Danyelle Blackwell, a Democrat, was at the meeting “Vote for Freedom” campaign. in Philadelphia on Monday night. She stood in the ADA section close to the stage and danced with others nearby. She said she was confident about tomorrow.
“Oh, we’ll win,” she said. “This will be the first woman [president]. This will be historic. We will cooperate and we will have peace.”
“AND Electoral Collegethey better not do what they did to Hillary,” Blackwell added, referring to the fact that Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College 304 to 227. “Because we won the popular vote – we already have it. We’ve done it before and we’ll do it again.”
Asked about what such an event offers, Blackwell said it would support push the vote, but also be a good learning experience for potentially concerned voters across the region.
“You need music. Music soothes the soul. Human nature needs art, theater. We need this to composed down.
These students identify as moderates and Harris supporters
Henry Bailey, Nathan Nazareth, Oden Calvert and Eric Stellato, all seniors at Drexel University, said Monday evening “Vote for Freedom” campaign. was the first political event either of them had attended and that they had skipped class to get in line early.
“It’s historic,” Stellato said. “We need to show our support and show that, I don’t know, people generally care. Even people like us.
When asked what he meant, Stellato explained that it might not fit the bill of someone you would immediately recognize as a Harris supporter.
“We might not talk about it out loud, we might not wear things like that, we might not post about it or anything like that,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t care, you know? And we definitely talk about it with our friends and have earnest conversations.
Stellato said that in 2016, when he was a teenager, he liked Trump and “didn’t know better,” but over the next four years he changed his mind. Later college, he said, was also a large change.
“I think we’re seeing that with a lot of people now – they see it as something edgier and rebellious,” he said of supporting Trump. – If you are not informed, his words may sound anything. And once you realize he’s lying in every sentence, you’ll start to realize you can learn better.”
Stellato expressed concerns that his father, an immigrant from Ecuador who is now a U.S. citizen, could be harmed by what he said could be a widespread and disorganized mass deportations in Trump’s presidency. He also worries about his gay and transgender friends, as well as the women in his life.
Bailey, a registered Democrat who describes himself as moderate, agreed he was concerned women’s reproductive rights during Trump’s second presidency. Bailey said that while he sometimes wishes Harris would be more conservative on some issues, such as immigration, he believes the Republican Party as it currently stands is a “total sham.”
“Even though I don’t agree with her on some issues, she’s a lot better than Donald Trump,” Bailey said. “He made it clear that he didn’t believe in certain things when it came to the Constitution. And besides, it’s clear that it’s for the wealthy. He’s a wealthy president. Not that we haven’t had wealthy presidents, but he’s certainly a lot more Hollywood when it comes down to it.
The group of four said they were excited, nervous and “cautiously optimistic” about what Election day would bring.
