Oprah, Lady Gaga bring back the joy in Kamala Harris’ final rally

PHILADELPHIA —  Vice President Kamala Harris held her final rally of the campaign Monday night, 106 days after President Biden dropped out, with a heavy dose of celebrity, trying to bring back the joy that characterized her early weeks on the trail.

At a Philadelphia rally outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art, by the steps where Rocky Balboa ran in the “Rocky” movie franchise, she implored a raucous crowd to make a plan to vote.

“One more day, just one more day in the most consequential election of our lifetime,” she said. “And momentum is on our side.”

The rally was intended as a show of force — bringing celebrity firepower to the biggest city in the most important swing state that was also the birthplace of American democracy. It featured Fat Joe, Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, the Roots, will.i.am and Oprah Winfrey.

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The event was part of a simulcast that stretched more than four hours across multiple cities, including Las Vegas and Phoenix. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz addressed a crowd in Milwaukee. Sugarland performed in Raleigh. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spoke from Detroit, where Jon Bon Jovi also performed.

“You don’t know who you voting for?” said Fat Joe, who introduced a musical number by fellow Puerto Rican Ricky Martin in a Philadelphia speech that criticized former President Trump for having a comedian who insulted Puerto Ricans during his rally last week. “You gotta be kidding me at this point.”

Lady Gaga performed a soulful version of “God Bless America” and spoke about empowering women, revving up the crowd. Winfrey brought 10 first-time voters on stage and asked several why they cast their votes.

“We are voting for healing over hate,” Winfrey said.

The mood was celebratory but Democrats are tense. Polls show a toss-up race with Pennsylvania, the biggest of the seven battleground states, nearly even as well.

“Everyone’s a little bit high-strung, which is understandable,” said Sara Grimaldi, 22, who has been working on youth voter engagement for a feminist group throughout the campaign.

She came to do some last-minute outreach and to release some of that anxiety with Lady Gaga, she said. “Screaming, when you’re stressed out, helps.”

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Democrats are hoping their ground game, two years in the making, will push Harris over the top. The campaign said about 110,000 volunteers have worked in the state since Harris took over atop the ticket from Biden three months ago, and were on track to knock on 5 million doors.

Tal Tigay, a 43-year-old real estate developer, came with her 12-year-old daughter, Nina, and their friend Ella, also 12. Tigay had taken Nina to a Hillary Clinton rally eight years ago to see the first female presidential candidate.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t win that one, but it was important for my daughter to be here in this moment,” Tigay said.

Violet Perloff, a first-year student at George Washington University in Washington, rescheduled a test and came home on the train so she could celebrate voting for the first time. She brought a bejeweled “Harris” sign that she made in her dorm room.

“I had the opportunity to show my support,” she said. “So I was like, I want to do it. I want to come out and show that I care about my rights and I care about the future of this country.”