Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris had to cancel a planned trip to Asheville last week when two staffers tested positive for COVID-19. On Wednesday, the California Senator made it to Western North Carolina, speaking at an event at UNC Asheville.
With just under two weeks remaining until election day and millions of North Carolinians heading to the polls during the state’s early voting period, Democratic nominee Joe Biden campaign’s been spending more and more time in the Old North State, including a pair of visits Wednesday by Kamala Harris.
“Good morning everyone,” said Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer, who spoke before Harris appeared at the socially distanced outdoor event in a campus parking lot. Manheimer assembled a top-ten list of reasons to get out and vote.
“Number 1,” she said, “electing the first woman vice president to these United States.”
Harris decried President Trump’s record on handling the Coronavirus pandemic, on supporting public schools, on rushing to confirm a replacement for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and on health care.
“This is stranger than fiction,” said Harris. “Have you ever heard that expression, that fact is stranger than fiction? We’re living it. We’re living it, sister. And so what are we seeing? Right now, in the midst of a public health pandemic, Donald Trump and Bill Barr are in the United States Supreme Court trying to get rid of the Affordable Care Act.”
Harris said that Biden is the best candidate for voters concerned with health care.
“This is why we need Joe Biden to be elected President of the United States, she said. “He will expand health care, bring down the cost of premiums, bring down the cost of prescription drugs, lower Medicare eligibility to age 60.”
Before boarding her plane, Harris had a lot to say about North Carolina’s role in the upcoming election.
“We need North Carolina and that’s why I’m here, that’s why he’s been here,” she said. “The people of North Carolina are very much going to be a very big part of deciding this election, so we’re here to encourage the vote,” Harris said. “Vote early. But also we’ve been here to listen to folks because we know the people of North Carolina want the kind of support they deserve from their president.”
Harris then departed for another scheduled appearance in Charlotte.
