MILWAUKEE – Vice President Kamala Harris energized a crowd of eager voters in one major battleground state rooting for her November success, just a week after former President Trump accepted the Republican Party’s nomination in the same city and two days after President Biden withdrew his Democratic nomination amid internal party pressure.
While the president’s abrupt move via a post on X to suspend his re-election campaign took Democratic voters by surprise, they told Fox News Digital they are “excited” that Harris is slated to secure the nomination next month at the DNC and believe she’s the best candidate to beat Trump in November.
“Well, I’m excited now,” Amy Turkoski, a spokesperson for the teacher’s union, Madison Teachers Inc., told Fox News Digital at the Milwaukee rally. “On Sunday, I was just shocked and confused, and yesterday, I still felt shocked and confused. But today, I feel united and energized and really excited that she’s the candidate for us.”
HARRIS HAULS IN $81 MILLION IN FIRST 24 HOURS SINCE BIDEN BOWED OUT
Vice President Kamala Harris during a campaign event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, July 23, 2024. (Daniel Steinle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
And Democratic voters are hoping to win over independents as well, a group where Trump currently leads, according to a recent poll.
“We definitely need someone who will unite the independents and even unite within the Democratic Party, and I do feel she is that candidate,” Turkoski said. “She has the experience. She has the knowledge to unite.”
Trump and Harris are in a tight contest, the most recent national poll since Biden ended his campaign indicates. However, independents – who are being closely watched this election cycle – backed Trump 46%-32% over Harris, with one in five undecided.
In a multi-candidate field, the poll indicated Harris and Trump deadlocked at 42% support, with Democrat turned independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. at 7% and Green Party candidate Jill Stein and independent Cornel West each at 1%.
Supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris cheer during a campaign rally at West Allis Central High School on July 23, 2024, in West Allis, Wisconsin. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)
Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez was also among the crowd showing support for Harris, telling Fox News Digital “the energy and the electricity in this room was palpable.”
“People are so excited to be able to go knock on doors for her, to go make those phone calls, register people to vote,” Rodriguez said. “The road to the White House goes through Wisconsin, and she’s going to win this state. I’m very, very excited about it.”
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In her presumptive Democratic candidacy debut, Harris narrowly attacked Trump and claimed he wants to implement a blanket “ban” on abortion.
Supporters await Vice President Kamala Harris’ rally in Milwaukee. (Fox News Digital/Jamie Jospeh)
“We who believe in reproductive freedom will stop Donald Trump’s extreme abortion bans because we trust women to make decisions about their own body, and not have their government tell them what to do,” Harris told the raucous crowd of supporters gathered in Milwaukee.
Harris has made the same claim on other occasions, including in an X post earlier this month. “Donald Trump would ban abortion nationwide,” she wrote. “President [Joe Biden] and I will do everything in our power to stop him and restore women’s reproductive freedom.”
Fox News Digital’s Brandon Gillespie and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
