Kamala Harris Gives Immigration Talk in Arizona – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

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 during their tour of key 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 an open Senate seat in Arizona, unveiled an ad late last week slamming Gallego for supporting what the ad calls 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 entice the state’s rapidly growing Hispanic population with a new ad highlighting how Harris, the daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica, rose to the highest echelons of American politics.

And as at other campaign rallies, Harris brought the theme of “freedom” to the forefront of all her speeches, especially when it came to voting rights, gun restrictions, 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.

The rally was held in a state represented by Democrat Mark Kelly in the U.S. Senate, who passed over Harris for running mate. The former astronaut and gun control advocate was a leading candidate for running mate. He has won two tough races in politically divided Arizona.

By skipping Kelly, Harris may also 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.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz made their first public appearance together Tuesday night at a rally in Philadelphia.

“These last few months will feel like years, and it’s hard to see anyone winning by a large margin,” said Constantine Querard, a veteran Republican strategist in the state.

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 is Voting for Kamala” and “Kamala and the Coach.” (Walz was a former high school football coach.) She emphasized it at the rally, too.

“As exciting as this is, we can’t lose sight of one very important fact: We are absolutely in this as underdogs,” Harris said. “We are the underdog. We have a lot of numbers, but we still have a lot of work to do.”

Democrats say they 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.”

“Kelly’s failure to pick has not dampened Harris’ support,” said Stacy Pearson, a Democratic strategist in Phoenix. She said she senses the same enthusiasm for the new ticket that has led to huge crowds greeting Harris and Walz at previous stops on their tour, including the home of another running mate, Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania.

Another Democratic strategist in Arizona, DJ Quinlan, agreed. “There’s a lot of enthusiasm on the ground. It’s the closest thing to what 2008 felt like to me,” he said, referring to former President Barack Obama’s first race, which energized Democratic voters.

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’s 2020 victory and Biden’s win there. In 2022, Kelly won again, and Democrats swept the top three statewide races for governor, attorney general and secretary of state, beating Republican candidates who latched on to Trump’s style and his lies about fraud, costing him 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.

And Harris was reminded of yet another problem this fall when she paused to address directly the Gaza protesters who interrupted her speech.

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. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said she and President Biden are “working every day, night and 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.