Kamala Harris pitches for ‘new generation of leadership’ in Reno

Dressed in jeans and a blue blazer, Vice President Kamala Harris made her final pitch in the tight northern Nevada presidential race at a rally in downtown Reno on Thursday.

“It’s time for a new generation of leadership in America,” she said at the Reno Events Center.

The Democrat faces Republican and former President Donald Trump in an election where Nevada could play an outsized role as a swing state. Polling averages show the two in a statistical tie.

She contrasted her approach with Trump’s.

“He’s not someone who thinks how to do your the better life,” Harris said. “This is someone who is increasingly unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed by resentment and seeking unchecked power.

“If elected, Donald Trump on day one would walk into that office with an enemies list — when I’m elected, I’ll walk into that office with a to-do list.”

That led to cheers and signs from a crowd of about 6,000, according to her campaign. It also gave Harris a chance to go through some of her plans. These included:

Home health care coverage for seniors with Medicaid
A federal ban on corporate food price gouging
Make homes more affordable by building more – and “getting corporate landlords to buy those properties and raise rents”
And raising the minimum wage and eliminating tip taxes for service and hospitality workers.

Trump first floated the idea of eliminating tip taxes at a June rally in Las Vegas, and it has since been picked up by the Harris campaign. A bill has been introduced in Congress to make it a reality. Nevada’s two Democratic senators — Catherine Cortez Masto, who spoke at Thursday’s rally in Reno, and Jacky Rosen, who is running for re-election — both signed on.

Protesters chant repeatedly during Kamala Harris’ rally in Reno

A handful of protesters tried to interrupt Harris’ speech by shouting their support for the Palestinians. They waved their shouts for about 10 minutes and from different parts of the arena.

Lily Baran, former ACLU of Nevada staffer and Reno City Council candidate, was one.

“I’m a lifelong Democrat and I’ve voted in every election since I was 18 and now I’m 36,” she told the Reno Gazette Journal. “I have yet to vote for this candidate because I cannot get over the unthinkable things this administration is doing in Palestine and Lebanon.”

Baran’s son joined her and was escorted out before she was.

“He asked if he could attend,” she said, “and I always encourage the exercise of free speech and civil disobedience. But what we saw there (at the rally) was not freedom of speech.”

In the noise of the arena, it was hard to hear what was being shouted. Some in the crowd started chanting “We love you Kamala” to counter the protesters.

Harris generally kept the momentum of her remarks, but at one point, she acknowledged the disruption.

“Okay,” she said. “Democracy can be complicated. We are fighting for people’s right to be heard and not imprisoned for speaking their minds.”

Protecting women whether they like it or not

Abortion is on the ballot in Nevada this election, a fact Democrats hope will boost turnout for their candidates. Trump gave Harris a new reason to discuss the hot-button issue, though he did talk about violent crimes committed by illegal immigrants in the country.

He told a rally in Wisconsin on Wednesday that his campaign team told him to stop saying he would protect women. Trump said he told them he wouldn’t stop.

“‘Well, I’m going to do it, whether women like it or not, I’m going to protect them,'” he said.

Harris shook her head in dismay.

“It’s not the first time she’s told us she doesn’t think women should have authority or agency over their own bodies,” she said. “This is the same person who said women should be punished for their choices. This is someone who simply does not respect women’s freedom – or women’s intelligence – to make decisions about their own lives.”

Bringing people together

Approaching 25 minutes, Harris ended his remarks by talking about a bright future for America.

“For the last many years, he’s had a way of making people point the finger at each other, trying to tear us apart, trying to make people feel alone.”

She urged people to build their communities.

“Remind people that we have so much more in common than what separates us, so much more,” Harris said.

“We believe in the promise of America.”

Harris’ next stop Thursday night was Las Vegas for another rally, this one with Jennifer Lopez.

Mark Robison is a state politics reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal, with occasional forays into other topics. Email comments to [email protected] or comment on Mark’s Greater Reno Facebook page.