CHICAGO — Less than two months before the midterm elections, Vice President Kamala Harris rallied a welcoming crowd of abortion-rights supporters in Chicago on Friday where she heralded Illinois Democrats for playing key roles in pushing for reproductive rights and pushed voters to make their voices heard on Nov. 8.
Harris’ appearance in Chicago — her second in a little more than two months — came as two national political issues took on local importance. On Thursday in neighboring Indiana, a near-total ban on abortions took effect, and, in just the past two weeks, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas has had migrants who crossed the border into Texas bused to Chicago and other cities to the north, including near Harris’ residence in the nation’s capital.
“Elections matter,” Harris said prior to the rally during a roundtable meeting on the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she was joined by abortion providers and advocates. Others who joined Harris were Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Attorney General Kwame Raoul, two Democrats seeking their second terms in office in November, as well as Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who is seeking reelection in the municipal election early next year.
