Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at a rally on Nov. 2 to endorse the Massachusetts democratic candidates for this year’s general election.
Harris, alongside democratic gubernatorial candidate Maura Healey, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, addressed the crowd at Roxbury Community College urging everyone to vote blue.
“Why should I vote? It’s a very righteous question. Here’s what I have to say. We’ve got lots of material,” Harris said, referring to the democrats’ agenda.
This material included Healey’s priorities as governor, like climate change and education, and an emphasis on protecting women’s reproductive rights. Harris urged voters to consider reproductive rights come election day.
“One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree that the government should not be telling her what to do with her body,” Harris said.
Harris used her speech to emphasize the importance of voting.
“Understand how everything that is on the line not only impacts our nation, it has the real potential to impact people around the world,” Harris said. “We will fight. And when we fight, we win.”
Healey, along with her running mate for lieutenant governor Kim Driscoll, attorney general nominee Andrea Campbell, state auditor nominee Diana DiZoglio, Wu, and Pressley all also gave speeches of their own before Harris took the stage.
The democrats were clear they intend to break the glass ceiling this election, as this could be a historical election not just for Massachusetts, but the nation as a whole. If Healey is elected as governor, she would become the first elected female governor in Massachussets, the first openly gay governor in the commonwealth, and the first lesbian governor in the U.S. If Campbell wins her race for attorney general, she would be the first Black woman elected to statewide office in Massachusetts.
“Today is a message to all the little girls out here,” Healey said. “The message today is that you can be anything you want to be.”
Senior communications major Chloe Mccormac works to spread the word about the election and to encourage people to vote. Mccormac felt this rally was an effective method of doing so.
“It’s a good way to get the community involved,” Mccormac said.
The rally was successful for at least one Massachusetts resident. Andrea Greene was an undecided voter before she attended the rally, but after the event, Healey had her vote. Greene said she was impressed by the rally, noting Healey and Pressley’s speeches as particularly moving.
Healey leads the race for governor over republican nominee Geoff Diehl by about 25 points. Despite this, the democratic nominees say nothing is certain, and voting is imperative.
“It’s about who lives, who dies, who survives and who thrives,” Pressley said.
