Harris seeks to energize first-time voters
Vice President Kamala Harris will visit every battleground state in the final week before Election Day, with a focus on female voters who she hopes will propel her to the White House.
The campaign has directed several messages to female voters in recent days, reminding them that what happens in the voting booth is a secret.
A Democratic ad released Monday delivers the message: “You can vote any way you want and no one will ever know.”
On Saturday in Kalamazoo, Michigan, former first lady Michelle Obama reminded women that “we are more than just baby making vessels.”
“If you are a woman who lives in a household of men that don’t listen to you or value your opinion, just remember that your vote is a private matter,” Obama said in the battleground state.
A voter CBS News met at the rally said she’s heard from a number of female Republicans who will vote Democrat.
“There’s been kind of a little under campaign going about,” she said. “You can vote and no one knows your vote. And it’s been aiming at women.”
Four first-time female voters all said the top issue for women their age is abortion and reproductive rights.
Harris told CBS News in an interview Saturday that she would restore Roe v. Wade if she wins the election.
“I support Roe v. Wade being put back into law by Congress, and to restore the fundamental right of women to make decisions about their own body. It is that basic,” Harris said.
Harris skirted the question about whether she supports abortion restrictions after fetal viability, generally considered to be between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy.
“We would not be debating this if Donald Trump had not hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention they would undo the protections of Roe v. Wade,” she said, noting that women have died because of restrictions that have been enacted since the rollback.
“We have seen women who are experiencing a miscarriage around a pregnancy they prayed for and being denied healthcare because doctors are afraid they’re going to go to prison, and those women developing sepsis,” she said. “We have seen extraordinary harm and pain and suffering happen because of what Donald Trump did in intending and effectuating and overturning of Roe v. Wade. Yes, my first priority is to put back in place those protections and to stop this pain and to stop this injustice that is happening around our country.”
She also urged Americans not to take former President Donald Trump at his word when he denies that he would support a national abortion ban.
“He says everything,” Harris said. “Come on, are we really taking his word for it? He said that women should be punished. He has been all over the place on this.”
With polling showing some of Harris’ early gains have slowed and that the race for the presidency is essentially a dead heat, Harris said she doesn’t put too much stock in the polls.
“I think, certainly, polling is a measure, but to be frank, if I’d listened to polls I would have never run for my first or second office,” she said. “Wouldn’t be here talking with you.”
She pointed to record turnout for early voting in North Carolina and Georgia as a sign of enthusiasm.
Asked if, considering how late in the process she became the Democratic nominee, she felt she had sufficient time to make her case to the American people, Harris responded, “I’m gonna make the most of the time I have.”
- In:
- Voter Turnout
- Women
- Voting
- Roe v. Wade
- Kamala Harris
- Democratic Party
- Politics
- Abortion
- Election
- 2024 Elections
Norah O’Donnell is the anchor and managing editor of the “CBS Evening News,” anchor of CBS News Election Specials and a 60 Minutes contributing correspondent. O’Donnell is a multiple Emmy Award-winning journalist with nearly three decades of experience covering the biggest stories in the world and conducting impactful, news-making interviews.
