Live updates: VP Kamala Harris holds NC campaign rallies in Charlotte, Greensboro
Vice President Kamala Harris brought her campaign to North Carolina Thursday, speaking in Greensboro after holding a rally at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte.
The visits are Harris’ first public rallies since the presidential debate Tuesday night against Republican Donald Trump. Recent polls show North Carolina as a virtual tie between the two candidates. Harris led by three points in two of the most recent polls by Quinnipiac and WRAL. Trump previously held a significant lead over President Joe Biden, who has dropped out of the race.
Below are live updates from Harris’ visit to NC, with the most recent at the top.
As Harris ends rally she says it “all comes down to this”
6:55 p.m. Harris ended by speaking about the responsibility that comes with the “privilege” of being an American, saying that “we are here together because we love our country.”
“I do believe it is the highest form of patriotism to fight for the ideals of our country,” Harris said.
She reminded the crowd that there were only 35 days left until early voting begins in North Carolina and encouraged voters to support Stein in his gubernatorial race.
“I ask you today, North Carolina, are you ready to make your voices heard?” Harris said to cheers from the crowd. “Do we believe in freedom? Do we believe in opportunity? Do we believe in the promise of America — and are we ready to fight for it? And when we fight, we win.”
Harris warns of Trump “with no guardrails”
6:50 p.m. Harris said the stakes of the 2024 elections were even higher than previous ones, due to the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity.
“Imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails,” she said. “...He who has vowed if reelected, he will be a dictator on day one. He who called for the quote ‘termination of the Constitution of the United States.’”
“Someone who suggests that we should terminate the Constitution of the United States should never again stand behind the seal of the president,” Harris said.
Harris speaks on abortion, voting rights
6:45 p.m. After speaking about health care, Harris turned to abortion, noting that 20 states have restricted or banned the procedure, including North Carolina.
She said Trump was responsible for the new bans, after he appointed three conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court who provided the votes to overturn Roe v. Wade.
She also noted that Trump refused to say if he would veto a national abortion ban during Tuesday’s debate.
Harris also warned of a “full-on attack on hard-fought, hard-won fundamental rights and freedoms” and said she would work to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act if elected.
“Generations of Americans led the fight before us” she said. “...Now the baton is our hands.”
Harris praises small business, promotes plan for “opportunity economy”
6:40 p.m. Harris praised small business owners, saying they are “part of the fabric of our communities.”
She promoted the points of her “Opportunity Economy” plan, including a $50,000 tax deduction for startup businesses, building three million new homes by the end of her first term and giving tax cuts to new parents.
“I will always put the middle class and working families first — I know where I came from,” she said.
Harris contrasted her economic plan with Trump’s, who she said “intends to cut Social Security and Medicare” and end the Affordable Care Act.
She said Trump made it clear that he had no plan to replace the ACA and recalled his quote from the debate, where he said he had “concepts of a plan.”
Harris takes the stage, calls for second debate
6:35 p.m. Harris thanked Cooper, Stein and several other Democratic leaders as she took the stage.
As she did in Charlotte, Harris told voters they deserved to see a second debate between herself and Trump.
She said his performance on Tuesday was the “same old tired playbook we’ve heard for years.”
“It’s time to turn the page,” Harris said. “America is ready for a new way forward and we are ready for a new generation of leadership that is optimistic about what we can do for our country together.”
Bennett College student introduces Harris
6:30 p.m. Jazmin Rawls, a student at Bennett College, an HBCU in Greensboro, introduced Harris to the crowd.
“Donald Trump wants to take us back,” Rawls said. “But here’s the thing: young voters know, North Carolina is not going back.”
“Young people like me are looking for leaders who will take us forward, not backwards. Electing Vice President Harris as president of the United States is the best thing we could do to protect our rights, secure our democracy and ensure folks have the opportunity to no just get by — but get ahead.”
Rep. Kathy Manning says election will be “incredibly close” but NC can “turn blue”
6:08 p.m. U.S. Rep. Kathy Manning, who represents Greensboro in Congress, said North Carolina would be critical in Harris’ race for the White House.
“We know this election will be incredibly close,” she said. “That’s why we must continue to work every day from now until November 5 to turn North Carolina blue.”
Manning said the country cannot afford the “selfishness, the instability and the chaos” that Trump would bring if elected.
“Kamala Harris has always been for the people and Donald Trump has only been for one person — and that is Donald Trump,” Manning said.
She also urged voters not to forget about down-ballot races, including the governor’s race and the state Supreme Court.
Gov. Roy Cooper says Harris will “fight for you”
5:50 p.m. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper walked on stage to rapturous applause as “Eye of the Tiger” rang through the stadium’s speakers.
He praised Harris’ debate performance on Tuesday, saying she “showed us yet again why we can’t let Donald Trump anywhere near the White House.”
“He ranted about his problems, she shared clear plans for lower costs and more freedom,” Cooper said. “He defended dictators, she defended democracy.”
Cooper said Harris would chart a new way forward that is “optimistic and positive.”
“Even if you don’t agree with her on everything, you can always count on Kamala Harris to fight for you to the very end,” he said.
Before leaving the stage, he encouraged to crowd to chant Harris’ name louder.
“Make sure she can hear you!” he said.
Josh Stein speaks to the crowd
5:45 p.m. Attorney General Josh Stein, the Democratic nominee for governor, took the stage to loud cheers.
“How many of you, like me, love North Carolina?” he asked, lauding the state’s barbecue, friendly people and basketball teams.
Stein touted his accomplishments as head of the Department of Justice, including fighting opioids and eliminating the state’s backlog of untested rape kits.
He compared his opponent, Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, to Trump, saying “their vision is one of division, violence and hate.”
Stein encouraged attendees to vote against both men, emphasizing that the “road to the White House” runs through North Carolina, given the state’s battleground status.
“We will win this governorship and we will elect Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States!” he said as he left the stage.
Harris arrives in Greensboro
5:31 p.m. Harris’ motorcade to the event began rolling after she arrived in Greensboro on Air Force Two.
Harris was greeted by several local officials at the airport, including Allen Joines, the mayor of Winston-Salem.
NC superintendent, agriculture candidates take the stage
5:15 p.m. Two Democratic candidates for North Carolina’s Council of State took the stage as an excited crowd awaits the vice president’s arrival.
To chants of “lets go vote,” Sarah Taber, who is running for agriculture commissioner, and Mo Green, who is running for superintendent of public instruction, addressed the cheering crowd.
“I believe in public school teachers,” Green said, going on to warn that Trump would defund the U.S. Department of Education, if elected.
Green’s race has attracted national attention due to controversial comments made by his opponent, Republican Michele Morrow. She previously discussed executing prominent Democrats and, on Jan. 6, 2021, said Trump should use the military to stay in office.
Excitement as attendees fill the stadium
4:50 p.m. As attendees filter into the stadium, music blares through the coliseum’s speakers and supporters dance throughout the stands.
Khadijah Barry, a 19-year-old student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, an HBCU, said she was excited to attend her first Harris rally.
“I think it’s just a great time to be alive, the excitement of seeing the first Black female president…so much pride,” she said.
Barry, who is Black, said she is studying intro to law and politics and “it’s just a joy and excitement. It’s really inspiring to see her come up on the stage to do what she’s done, just even her transitioning from vice president to now running to be president elect.”
“I see myself getting into politics and one day running for president, so I see this as monumental,” she said.
Supporters gather outside Greensboro Coliseum
4:35 p.m. Sebastian Shipp, 53, said he drove from Morrisville to attend the rally because this is “one of our groundbreaking elections.”
“This is an opportunity for us to continue to make the shifts that the Biden-Harris administration has already started, while at the same time being able to help our help our government move forward and help our country move forward by electing the first female president of the United States, as well as someone of African American ethnicity.”
Shipp said he had voted in every election since the age of 18 but he said this election was especially important, particularly in North Carolina because it’s “a state that is evenly divided in terms of political views.”
4:25 p.m. Jennifer Wallis, 49 years old, said it was her first time attending a presidential rally this year. Wallis said she is a longtime Democrat and that she was “really so moved by the debate” on Tuesday night.
She said she was “so excited to see all the energy that Kamala is bringing to the election” and “excited to see the energy that is showing up in other voters, right – younger voters, voters who maybe were not decided – and I wanted to have a chance to witness history.”
Harris in the debate “was able to define herself and define her position while also baiting Trump and in a way laying out some rhetorical traps for him that he was really unable to avoid stepping into,” she said. She said Harris presented herself as a “calm and poised’ leader while Trump was “too emotional.”
She said key policy issues for her are reproductive rights and reproductive freedom. Willis said she suffered infertility and was able to conceive a child through IVF.
“She is now an adult and you know the idea of her not existing just...,” she said trailing off as she teared up.
“That will always be a vote for me and a priority,” she said.
3:30 p.m. Thousands of people lined up outside the Greensboro Coliseum and its surrounding areas, appearing joyful and excited. Volunteers handed out water bottles to those arriving.
Two 26-year-old women, Airene Costelo and DeNaija Sims attending the rally together were nearing the front of the line.
Costelo, who said she immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines as a teenager, said she came out to the rally to support “Madam President.”
“I got here when I was 13, so I didn’t move here to go backward…just like she (Harris) said,” said Costelo.
“It’s historic. We’re just here to support her in every way. Because we’re both women of color, we’re both educated, we’re both quote-un-quote DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) hires. And we just want to support her,” Costelo said. She graduated from UNCG, while Sims graduated from Winston-Salem.
Both Costelo and Sims said key policies for them were women’s reproductive rights, implementing gun laws and education policies.
“Women’s rights really moves me because a lot of people think they can control what women do with their bodies and control what women can and cannot do,” said Sims.
Harris wraps up speech in Charlotte
4:12 p.m. Harris called Trump a dictator. Harris said Trump should never again stand behind the U.S. seal due to his comments that he supports the termination of the constitution.
That’s a reference to a Truth Social post by Trump about the 2020 election, according to Associated Press reporting in 2022. Trump said in a December 2022 post, “A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution,” the Associated Press reported.
“Donald Trump is not fit to be the president of the United States,” Harris said in Charlotte Thursday.
Harris finished her speech by saying she and rally attendees share a love for the county and are privileged to be Americans. She urged attendees to vote on Election Day for her and other Democrats, including Democratic gubernatorial nominee Josh Stein.
She called Democrats the underdog in the race.
”We know the power is with the people, and your voice is your vote North Carolina,” she said.
Harris on abortion
4:07 p.m. Harris criticized abortion bans and restrictions throughout the county, including in North Carolina and across the South.
North Carolina’s law bans abortions after 12 weeks, with exceptions up to 20 weeks for rape and incest; up to 24 weeks for a fetal anomaly; and at any time if “a qualified physician determines there exists a medical emergency.”
”A woman does not have to abandon her faith... to know the government should not be telling her what to do with her body,” she said.
Harris claimed Trump would not veto a national abortion ban.
”When Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it,” she said.
Touts GOP endorsements, economic plans
4:02 p.m. Harris touted her endorsements from Republicans, including Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney. The latter endorsed Harris last week during an event at Duke University.
Harris said she’ll fight for all Americans regardless of their political party.
”I will always put county above party and I will be a President for all America,” she said. “While Donald Trump is trying to pull our nation backward, we are fighting for the future.”
She emphasized her priority to ensure Americans have access to affordable housing, child care and health care.
If elected, Harris said she will offer a $50,000 tax deduction to help people start small businesses.
“I will always put middle class and working families first,” she said. “When the middle class is strong, America is strong.”
She said Trump will give corporations tax cuts and impose a tax that will cost the average American nearly $4,000 per year. That’s a reference to tariffs Trump says he plans to implement as well as an estimate from a liberal think tank, FactCheck.org said in its analysis of Tuesday’s debate.
Trump would reignite a recession by the middle of next year, she claimed, recycling a line from Tuesday’s debate.
Attendees interrupted her speech multiple times with chants of “we’re not going back.”
Voters deserve another debate, Harris says
3:49 p.m. Harris opened her speech with a question for voters.
”Are we going to do this North Carolina?” she asked.
Harris referenced her “good friend” Gov. Roy Cooper and offered her support for Attorney General Josh Stein’s run for governor.
She dove right into talking about this week’s debate with Trump. Harris said the candidates owe it to the voters to have another debate. Trump said Thursday in a post on Truth Social that there won’t be a third debate after Tuesday’s event and a prior one with President Joe Biden.
Harris said Trump recycled talking points that do not address the needs of the American people during the debate.
”America is ready for a new way forward,” she said. “We are ready for a new generation of leadership that is optimistic about what we can do better.”
Charlotte resident speaks about health care, introduces Harris
3:44 p.m. Charlotte resident Stacy Staggs spoke about her experience having an emergency cesarean section and her appreciation for Harris’ stance on reproductive health issues and the Affordable Care Act.
She said Trump and Republican gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson will put the lives of women in danger.
”Harris does not just support women, but she is fighting for us,” Staggs said. “Meanwhile Donald Trump and his allies, including Mark Robinson here in North Carolina, aim to threaten our access to reproductive care and they’re putting all our lives in danger.”
The crowd booed at her mentions of Trump, Robinson and Project 2025.
Staggs also introduced Harris, who took the stage at 3:48 p.m.
Cooper touts close relationship with Harris
2:51 p.m. Gov. Roy Cooper told the crowd he has confidence in Harris’ abilities and policies because he “knows her.” Harris and Cooper both served as attorney general of their respective states at the same time.
The outgoing governor said Harris’ economic plan will benefit North Carolinians.
”Even if you don’t agree with her, you can always count on Kamala to fight for you,” he said. “... When she fights, we win.”
The crowd at Bojangles Coliseum continued to fill in as Cooper spoke. Attendees light-up bracelets shined blue.
Jackson: Harris won debate ‘hands down,’ Bishop is ‘extremist’
2:41 p.m. U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson, the Democratic nominee for state attorney general, praised Harris for her performance in Tuesday’s debate, declaring she won “hands down.”
“I’ve never seen a clearer example than that debate of the future and the past. Honestly, I loved every minute of it,” he said.
He criticized his Republican opponent, Dan Bishop, for his role in North Carolina’s “bathroom bill” and called him “a true political extremist.”
“That’s not how you talk before you become attorney general. That’s how you talk before you storm the Capitol,” he said of Bishop’s comments about the 2020 election and the state of the government.
Josh Stein speaks at Kamala Harris rally
2:38 p.m. Democratic gubernatorial nominee Josh Stein took the stage at Thursday’s rally to a standing ovation.
Stein called his Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, “a conspiracy theorist.” The current state attorney general highlighted his work to decrease North Carolina’s backlog of untested rape kits and said he’s been an advocate for access to abortion and voting rights. If elected, he pledged to veto “any further restrictions on women’s reproductive freedom.”
He predicted North Carolina will be a close and consequential state in the presidential election.
”This political power is a privilege. It is also the responsibility,” he said.
Council of State candidates, Mayor Vi Lyles kick off speeches
2:28 p.m. Democratic Lt. Gov. candidate Rachel Hunt led a trio of Council of State candidates to kick off the speeches at Thursday’s rally.
Flanked by insurance commissioner candidate Natasha Marcus and labor commissioner candidate Braxton Winston, Hunt encouraged rallygoers to get involved in the election by volunteering with campaigns.
”We need leaders who will defend our democracy,” she said.
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said the election is about reproductive health care, economic opportunity and civil rights. She touted Harris’ proposals on child tax credits, assistance for first-time homebuyers and those looking to start a small business.
”We’re going for a simple cause and a big win in November,” she said.
Lyles said Harris held Trump “accountable” during Tuesday’s debate.
Crowd filing in ahead of Harris speech
2:15 p.m. Rallygoers started to fill up sections of Bojangles Coliseum and a standing room only area in front of the stage set up for Harris’s speech.
Some in the audience waved rally towels. Others sported pink and green ensembles — the signature colors of Harris’s sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha. JCSU’s marching band also performed intermittently.
Attendee Peggy Thomas said it was important to come out “such a historical event” after Harris “rocked” Tuesday’s presidential debate.
”She really held her ground, she showed that she’s a highly intelligent, capable woman,” Thomas said.
Harris touches down at CLT
2:13 p.m. Kamala Harris’ plane has touched down at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. She’s scheduled to speak at Bojangles Coliseum this afternoon.
Lively atmosphere outside Harris rally
12:30 p.m. A DJ amped up those who arrived early at Bojangles Coliseum for Harris’s first rally since Tuesday’s presidential debate.
People in line danced to songs such as the “Cha Cha Slide” and Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling” as they waited for doors to open about 12:30 p.m. Harris is scheduled to speak later in the afternoon.
“Who’s ready to see the first female president of the United States?” one person shouted in the parking lot.
Johnson C. Smith’s marching band was seen going through security. Traffic flowed relatively quickly into the coliseum’s parking lots, where vendors sold T-shirts and hats.
Inside the coliseum, event staff are handing out light-up bracelets like you’d get at a concert.
Why hasn’t Harris done what she says, GOP asks
The North Carolina Republican Party preempted Harris’ visit with a question: why hasn’t she done the things she is saying she would do?
Harris is in office now. So, why hasn’t she done anything about high prices, the North Carolina GOP asked in a news release. The GOP said Harris has “no vision, no solutions and no answers on how she’d be different” than President Joe Biden.
“Kamala Harris is wrong on the economy, wrong on the Southern border, and wrong for North Carolina families. President Trump has the right policies and the proven record to Make America Great Again,” said NCGOP Communications Director Matt Mercer.
The release cites Harris’ plans to raise taxes on corporations and capital gains as well as letting Trump’s tax cuts expire as being part of “the largest tax hike in American history.” Her plan to give first-time homebuyers at $25,000 tax break would cause prices to rise even more and do “nothing to increase the supply of new homes,” the GOP said.
Traffic, road closures from Kamala Harris visit
Charlotte drivers can expect road closures around the city with Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit for a campaign rally Thursday.
The Democratic presidential nominee will hold a rally at Bojangles Coliseum in the afternoon, so roads multiple roads, including Interstate 77 and East Independence Boulevard between Interstate 277 and Eastway Drive., will be closed starting at 2 p.m., according to a news release from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
“Traffic delays are also anticipated around Charlotte Douglas International Airport 2:30-7 p.m. Please seek alternate routes if you must travel during these times on Thursday,” CMPD said Wednesday.
Drivers in Greensboro should stay alert for traffic impacts near the Greensboro Coliseum and Gate City Boulevard, WGHP in High Point reported.
This story was originally published September 12, 2024 at 12:52 PM.
CORRECTION: During his speech in Charlotte, Josh Stein called Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson a conspiracy theorist. A prior version of this story incorrectly stated who he was referring to.
An earlier version of this story misspelled the names of Airene Costelo and DeNaija Sims.
