WILKES-BARRE — Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, has spent much of the past two weeks in Pennsylvania, starting with a Labor Day rally in Pittsburgh and returning a few days later to prepare for the debate. On Tuesday, she debated former President Donald Trump, the GOP presidential candidate, in Philadelphia, and on Friday she campaigned in Johnstown and Wilkes-Barre, two areas that have swung Republican in recent elections.
“I will continue to travel the state to make sure I listen as much as I talk,” Harris said during a visit to Johnstown, according to pool reports. “And ultimately, I believe deeply in earning every vote, and that means spending time with people in the communities where they live. That’s why I’m here, and we’re going to be spending a lot more time in Pennsylvania.”
Luzerne County, where Wilkes-Barre is located, used to be a Democratic stronghold and is near President Joe Biden’s hometown of Scranton. However, Hillary Clinton lost the county by nearly 20 points in 2016, and Trump beat Biden by nearly 15 points in 2020.
In her speech to the audience at Wilkes University’s McHale Athletic Center, Harris hit familiar ground, praising small-business owners as “the backbone of the American economy,” pledging to protect reproductive rights and reiterating that her presidential campaign was shaped by her middle-class background.
“People sometimes just need a bargain because we as Americans have no shortage of ambition, aspiration, dreams, willingness to work hard,” Harris said. She said that if elected, her economic plan would build 3 million novel homes by the end of her first term, and she said she would address corporate gouging and expand the child tax credit.
Harris also said she would “eliminate unnecessary degree requirements for federal positions to increase the number of jobs available to people without a four-year degree” and “call on the private sector to do the same.”
She referred to Tuesday’s debate with Trump, during which the former president said he had a “concept plan” to replace the Affordable Care Act, something he tried and failed to do during his term.
“Think about that for a moment,” she said, drawing jeers and laughter from the audience. “He’s going to jeer at health insurance for 45 million people who rely on it based on a ‘concept.’” Trump’s plan, she added, is Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for rebuilding the federal government that Trump has tried to distance himself from by saying he had no involvement in it.
Trump, Harris Conquer Key States in Days After Debate as Presidential Race Gains Pace
During Harris’ roughly 20-minute speech in Wilkes-Barre, she was briefly interrupted by protesters, but her chants of “war criminal” and “free Palestine” were drowned out by supporters chanting “Kamala.”“Look, now is the time to make a hostage settlement and a ceasefire, and we’ve been working around the clock to do that,” Harris told protesters in response, “and I respect your voice, but now I’m speaking.”
Stacie New of nearby Kingston was impressed with Harris’ handling of the protesters.
“She said, ‘I value your opinion, you should have a voice, but now is not the time,’” she said. For New, the episode proved Harris’ leadership, showing the vice president’s ability to think on the fly and be respected.
“He’s able to take other people’s opinions into account when trying to get his message across,” New said.
Harris also reiterated her position that she and her vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are underdogs in the 2024 election and that the stakes are much higher than in previous elections.
“This isn’t 2016 or 2020: The stakes are even higher than they were then because two months ago, the Supreme Court of the United States basically told the former president that he would be essentially untouchable no matter what he did if he returned to the White House,” she said.
More than three hours before Harris arrived, Megan Mitola and Jackson Marcantonio, both seniors at King’s College, gathered under a huge, brilliant blue Harris/Walz sign. They smiled as they waited for their photo to be taken.
“I think our generation can influence the outcome of the election,” said Marcantonio, a Bethlehem native who was attending his first political rally.
Mitola, a Long Island native, plans to become an education lawyer and said she expects the Harris administration to protect students and teachers. Trump’s victory scares her, she said, which is why she wants as many people of her generation as possible to register to vote.
“I think whoever wins Pennsylvania will win because it’s a swing state,” she said. “It’s a college environment, and I think we have a lot of students who could sign up for a swing state that could be a blue state.”
The first speaker was Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown, who took the stage just after 5 p.m. “She doesn’t diss people who disagree with her, she listens to them,” Brown said of Harris.
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania), who is himself running for re-election, praised Harris’ performance in the debate.
“As we saw recently in the debate, she is ready to take on Donald Trump and win this election,” Casey said.
Governor Josh Shapiro echoed similar sentiments after a thunderous welcome from the audience.
“She’s tough as nails, has a big heart and is someone who doesn’t play,” he said of Harris. “We saw that last night in the debate, right?”
During a visit to Johnstown earlier Friday, Harris visited a bookstore and coffee shop with Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. John Fetterman and his wife, Gisele. A Democratic presidential candidate has not won Cambria County, where Johnstown is located, since 2008, when Barack Obama edged John McCain. Mitt Romney defeated Obama there in 2012, and Trump won Cambria County in 2016 and 2020.
Trump spoke to reporters Friday at Trump National Golf Course in Los Angeles, promising to carry out “the largest deportation in the history of our country.”
The vice president will return to Pennsylvania on Tuesday, where he is scheduled to give an interview to the National Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia.
