United States Vice President Kamala Harris has deployed some of the music industry’s star power to rally voters in the final weeks before November’s presidential election.
On Saturday, two of the Democratic nominee’s events were headlined by prominent musicians.
At her first stop, in Detroit, Michigan, the singer and rapper Lizzo warmed up the crowd with a passionate on-stage endorsement.
“I already voted early and I voted for Harris,” the musician, a Detroit native, told a cheering crowd.
Michigan is one of about seven key swing states in the presidential race, which could tilt either towards the Democrat or her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump.
Later in the day, Harris visited another pivotal battleground: the southern state of Georgia.
There, she had also lined up another hometown hero, the musician Usher, who began his music career in Atlanta, the state’s capital. Usher sang a few bars with the crowd before starting his speech.
“It’s really great to be home. I’m here, home, for my Past Present Future Tour but took a quick break from that to come here, share a few words with you about the significance of this moment,” he said.
“I feel that this is a momentous opportunity for each and every one of us. It’s just 17 days away from a very important election, as we all know, and we have the opportunity to choose a new generation of leadership for our country.”
Record early voting
Harris’s visit to Michigan on Saturday coincided with the first day of in-person early voting in Detroit.
Absentee voting by mail had already begun in the state. Michigan’s online “voting dashboard” indicated that, by Saturday morning, more than 1 million mail-in ballots had been received.
It was one of several strong showings across the country, indicating a possible surge in voter enthusiasm. States like North Carolina and Georgia have notched records for early-voting turnout this week, according to officials.
The chief operating officer for Georgia’s secretary of state, Gabriel Sterling, posted on social media that turnout continues to be high. Georgia’s first day of early voting was Tuesday.
“Congratulations to the counties and especially our great Georgia voters. Y’all have broken another RECORD. Biggest turnout ever for a General Election Saturday,” Sterling wrote.
While experts caution against extrapolating too much from the numbers, political analysts note that Democrats have traditionally seen a boost from large early turnouts.
Harris sought to build on this year’s momentum during her weekend campaign stops.
“Georgia started early voting, broke historic records. North Carolina started early voting, broke historic records in North Carolina. Now, who is the capital of producing records?” she told supporters in Detroit, with a winking reference to the city’s music industry.
“So we are going to break some records here in Detroit today.”
Addressing war in Gaza
During her visit to Michigan, Harris also took the opportunity to repeat her call for a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel has led a yearlong military campaign, killing more than 42,500 Palestinians.
US support for Israel and its war has eroded support for Democrats among Arab and Muslim Americans in Michigan.
The state boasts the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the country, and it also the home of a national protest movement against the administration of President Joe Biden over its stance on the war.
Harris, who has also been a recipient of that criticism, voiced hope that the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza might usher in an end to hostilities.
“This creates an opening that I believe we must take full advantage of — to dedicate ourselves to ending this war and bringing the hostages home,” Harris told reporters in Detroit.
She added that Middle East policy has long been a difficult issue for the US.
“It has never been easy,” Harris said. “But that doesn’t mean we give up.”
Razzing Trump
At her campaign rally in Detroit, Harris addressed supporters in front of “Detroit Votes Early” signs — and she and other speakers used their platform to slap back at Republican criticisms of the city.
Earlier in the month, Trump cast Detroit in an unflattering light, telling the Detroit Economic Club that another Democratic president would render the entire country like the “Motor City”.
“Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she’s your president,” Trump said of Harris, calling Detroit “a mess”.
Harris, by contrast, took the stage on Saturday in a T-shirt that read “Detroit vs Everybody”, a slogan that has adorned clothing lines and rap songs.
Lizzo, meanwhile, addressed Trump’s comments more bluntly. “I’m so proud to be from this city,” she told the crowd. “You know, they say if Kamala wins, then the whole country will be like Detroit. Proud like Detroit. Resilient like Detroit.”
“Put some respect on Detroit’s name,” she added.
Celebrity support
Analysts in general say that the Democratic Party has been more successful in rallying star power to its cause this election cycle.
Harris not only enjoys the endorsement of figures like Lizzo and Usher, but celebrities like Taylor Swift, Oprah and George Clooney have also announced their support for her since she became the presidential candidate in July.
It is not clear, however, if celebrity support actually makes a difference in a campaign. More than 76 percent of voters polled recently by Quinnipiac University said Swift’s endorsement would not affect their ballots.
The same goes for Republicans. Two-thirds of those surveyed said entrepreneur Elon Musk’s recent support for Trump would not affect their vote either.
But Democrats are nevertheless banking on the glitter of its star power.
This upcoming week, for instance, former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama are hitting the campaign trail, with only two weeks to go before the election.
It will be the first time Michelle has done the rally circuit. Barack, meanwhile, made his first campaign-trail appearance in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, earlier this month.
Both Harris and Trump are trying to squeak ahead in the crucial last weeks of campaigning. Polling averages show the two are basically tied in the lead-up to November’s vote.
