Betting that abortion access can be a winning message in Texas and across the country, Vice President Kamala Harris rallied more than 30,000 people in downtown Houston Friday night to “Vote for reproductive freedom.”
Those words were emblazoned behind Harris, U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, Texas country legend Willie Nelson and global pop superstar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter as they declared the next 11 days leading up to Election Day as the final push in an existential fight for freedom.
“If Donald Trump wins again, he will ban abortion nationwide,” Harris declared to the packed Shell Energy Stadium. “We’re in Texas tonight, but for anyone watching from another state, if you think you are protected from Trump abortion bans because you live in another state … please know, no one is protected if there is a Trump national abortion ban.”
The surprise rally in Houston comes as the presidential campaign enters a fever pitch and much of the country has begun early voting, including Texas.
In her 30-minute speech, Harris keyed in on her campaign’s closing message for the election’s final days, framing the issues of democracy and reproductive rights as two sides of the same coin. Harris argued Trump and other Republican officials will erode citizens’ rights, pointing to the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade and abortion bans across much of the South as proof that rights can be taken away.
“We are 11 days out from an election that will decide the future of America, including the freedom of every woman to make decisions about her own body and her own freedom,” Harris said.
While Harris received loud cheers from the crowd throughout her speech, the biggest roar of the night occurred when Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland walked on to the stage to speak.
“I am not here as a celebrity, I’m not here as a politician, I’m here as a mother,” Beyoncé said. “A mother who cares deeply about the world my children and all of our children live in. a world where we have the freedom to control our bodies. A world where we’re not divided.”
Beyoncé and Rowland spoke of their childhoods growing up in Houston, where they founded Destiny’s Child before going on to stardom. Rowland said the city has a role to play in this year’s election.
“Now Houston, you’ve already had a hand in creating destiny, so do what you do and do this thing again,” Rowland said.
Neither woman performed, but the crowd was treated to two songs by Nelson: “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” and “On the Road Again.”
The entire program lasted more than three hours and included the stories of several women who survived medical emergencies after they were denied abortions.
“This November, healthcare is on the ballot in all 50 states,” Houston-based OB-GYN Dr. Richard Todd Ivey told the crowd. “We need to vote like our lives depend on it because they do.”
In the lead up to the rally, Harris held a news conference in Houston where she called Texas “ground zero” in the fight over reproductive rights and said she believes it will be a key issue in the election.
“This is not just a theoretical concept. Real harm has occurred in our country,” Harris said. “Real suffering has occurred. People have died. It’s important to highlight this issue because this is among the most critical issues that the American people will address when they vote for who will be the next president of the United States.”
At the same time as the news conference, a massive crowd of people ringed Shell Energy Stadium, as they had for much of the day leading up to the start of the rally.
More than 1.5 million people signed up for a chance to attend the rally, according to the event’s website. Paramedics were called for several people who fainted in the afternoon heat outside the stadium, according to KPRC News.
Humble residents Tamara Carter, 49 and Alexia Nelson, 23, said they arrived outside the stadium at 3 p.m. Unable to find the back of the lines in the massive crowds, the mother and daughter duo said they mostly lucked their way into a spot at the front of the section.
Harris’ decision to rally in Houston had Carter feeling optimistic that after years of blue mirages, a statewide Democratic candidate may actually be able to win Texas.
“It’s awesome,” Carter said. “Sometimes you feel like the odds are always against you in Texas, right? So, this is an opportunity. A chance.”
By organizing the massive rally in Houston with only days left in the campaign, the Harris campaign clearly believes the race will be close in the Lone Star State.
Harris was joined on stage by U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, who is challenging Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s bid for reelection. Allred has been on a spending blitz in recent weeks, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee announced a rare Texas ad buy in support of him last month.
“For all the Texas families who are looking for a senator who is looking out for them, I will never abandon you when you need me most,” Allred said. “I will protect your fundamental rights.”
Cruz has attempted to tie Allred to the Biden-Harris administration in his campaign messaging. Before the rally, Cruz’s campaign released a statement declaring “Colin Allred is Kamala Harris” and warning against their “radical” positions on immigration, energy and transgender rights.
A University of Houston poll released last week showed Cruz leading Allred by four percentage points, 50 percent to 46 percent, putting the race within reach for Democrats. The margin of error was listed as plus-or-minus 2.7 percent.
Trump led Harris by five percentage points in the same poll, 51 percent to 46 percent. Earlier this month, the Cook Political Report shifted the Texas race from “likely Republican” to “lean Republican,” raising hopes for Democrats struggling to retain control of the Senate.
After news of Harris’ Houston rally broke, Trump organized his own Friday campaign event in Austin. The former president, at a private jet terminal, criticized the Biden-Harris administration’s immigration policy.
During the news conference, Trump flashed on screen the mug shots of immigrants who had committed violent crimes in the U.S. and promised a mass deportation of immigrants who entered the country illegally.
He was joined by Alexis Nungaray, the mother of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, who was murdered in Houston in June. Two Venezuelan nationals are accused of Jocelyn’s murder.x
The last time a Democratic presidential candidate won Texas was 1976, when Jimmy Carter beat President Gerald Ford by less than four percentage points.
Harris told the crowd that electing Allred would be critical for Democrats to be able to pass a bill codifying Roe v Wade’s protections in to federal law.
“Let’s remember Texas, your vote is your voice, and your voice is your power,” Harris said.
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