Kamala Harris delivers immigration talk in Arizona as she fights to gain ground in the Sun Belt

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris drew on her background as a prosecutor to deliver her first extensive advocacy on immigration to voters in border states as she and her new running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, drew thousands to a campaign rally in Arizona during their tour of the crucial states.

Harris, the former California attorney general, reminded the crowd that as a law enforcement officer she took on international gangs, drug cartels and smugglers.

“I’ve sued them in case after case and I’ve won,” Harris told a crowd of more than 15,000 in Glendale, a Phoenix suburb. “So I know what I’m talking about.”

Harris promoted a border security bill negotiated by a bipartisan group of senators earlier this year that was ultimately overwhelmingly opposed by Republican lawmakers at the urging of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

“Donald Trump doesn’t want to solve this problem,” Harris said. “Be clear about that: He has no interest or desire to actually solve the problem. He talks a lot about border security, but he doesn’t do it.”

Her effort to directly address immigration — a political burden that has plagued Harris for much of her vice presidency — in the crucial, struggling state is part of a broader push by her campaign to make gains in Sun Belt states that had become increasingly out of reach with Joe Biden at the top of the ticket.

Trump and his allies, who have long criticized Biden over the influx of migrants during his term, are now shifting their attacks to Harris. Kari Lake, who is running against Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego for the open Senate seat in Arizona, lashed out at Gallego in a recent ad for supporting Biden and Harris’ “radical border agenda,” with repeated clips of the vice president chuckling.

“It’s very easy for us to change the subject and focus on her,” said Dave Smith, chairman of the Pima County Republican Party.

But Harris is trying to appeal to the state’s fast-growing Hispanic population and has released an ad of her own, showing how Harris, the daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica, rose to the highest echelons of American politics.

And just as she has done at other campaign rallies, Harris brought the theme of “freedom” to bear throughout her speeches at the rally, particularly when it came to voting rights, gun safety, LGBT rights and abortion access.

“Arizona, we fight for the future and we fight for freedom,” said Harris, who walked onto the stage as Beyoncé’s “Freedom” blared through the Desert Diamond Arena.

Harris’ message on safety and gun control resonated with Jen Duran, a 37-year-old mother and independent voter.

“I have a daughter in elementary school who has been going to this school since she was 4, and today we got a notification that there was a lockdown drill,” Duran said. “So safety for our children is really important.”

Phyllis Zeno, a 65-year-old grandmother from Maricopa, said she was pleased with Harris’ message of unity and her policy positions, especially on affordable health care and reproductive rights.

“Her message to me was not only hope, but a renewed faith in democracy, that we can do this,” Zeno said.

Arizona is represented in the U.S. Senate by Democrat Mark Kelly, who won two tough races in the politically divided state and who this week skipped Harris as his running mate.

By choosing Walz over Kelly, Harris may have lost a chance to win over people like Gonzalo Leyva, a 49-year-old landscaper from Phoenix. Leyva plans to vote for Trump but says he would have supported a Harris-Kelly ticket.

“I like Kelly 100 times over,” said Leyva, a lifelong Democrat who became an independent early in Trump’s term. “I don’t think he’s as extreme as the others.”

In Arizona, every vote will matter. The state is no stranger to close races, including in 2020 when Biden defeated Trump by fewer than 11,000 votes. Both parties are bracing for a similar photo finish this year.

Harris acknowledged how tough the race will be when she and Walz visited a campaign office in North Phoenix on Friday afternoon and thanked volunteers who made signs with slogans like “This Mamala Votes for Kamala” and “Kamala and the Coach.” (Walz was a high school football coach.)

She also emphasized this during the meeting.

“As exciting as this is, we can’t lose sight of one very important fact: we are absolutely in this as underdogs,” Harris said.

Democrats are confident Harris is in solid shape in the state, even without Kelly on the ticket. The senator plans to remain a strong advocate for Harris and has already been mentioned for possible Cabinet posts or other high-profile roles if the vice president enters the Oval Office.

“What this is about is who works the hardest. That’s it,” Kelly said at the rally. “It’s that simple.”

Arizona is something of a magnet for Midwesterners looking to escape the cold. So, several observers say, Walz could still do well there. The governor himself noted as much during his opening remarks to Harris, saying, “I’m like a fucking snowman, I’m melting here.”

Scott Snyder, who moved to Phoenix from Detroit three years ago, wasn’t familiar with Kelly’s background or his political views, but said Harris made the right choice in Walz.

“He reminds me a lot of my dad,” said Snyder, an electrician. “You see pictures of him out there coaching high school football. That’s something that appeals to me. You see him out there duck hunting. Same thing. That’s pretty common in Michigan, where I’m from.”

Arizona was a solidly Republican state until Trump’s combative political approach became nationally known.

In 2016, Trump won Arizona, then quickly fell out with the late Republican Sen. John McCain, a political icon in the state. That led to a steady exodus of educated, moderate Republicans out of the GOP and toward Democrats in top-of-the-ticket contests.

In 2018, Democrats won an open Senate race in the state, a precursor to Kelly and Biden’s victories in 2020. In 2022, Kelly won again, and Democrats won the three key state races for governor, attorney general and secretary of state, beating Republican candidates who adopted Trump’s style and his lies about fraud, causing him to lose the 2020 presidential election.

Chuck Coughlin, a Republican strategist and former McCain aide, said the same voters who tipped the state to the Democrats in recent elections remain lukewarm toward Trump at best.

“Trump is doing nothing to embrace that segment of the electorate,” he said.

Meanwhile, Harris was reminded of another issue when she was interrupted by protesters in Gaza.

Harris said she has been clear that “now is the time to get a ceasefire deal” to end fighting between Israel and Hamas that has killed tens of thousands of people in Gaza. She stressed that she and Biden are “working day and night every day to get that ceasefire deal done and get the hostages home.”

Harris added: “I respect your votes, but we’re here now to talk about this race in 2024.”

She responded differently earlier this week when Gaza protesters interrupted her at a rally in the Detroit area. She confronted the protesters.

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Riccardi reported from Denver and Kim reported from Washington. Walt Berry and Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed to this report.