Vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks to supporters at Doolittle Park Tuesday Oct. 26, 2020, as she makes a push to mobilize voters during the last seven-day stretch before Election Day.
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020 | 9 p.m.
Nevada voters haven’t elected a Republican for president since 2004.
Democratic vice president nominee Kamala Harris stressed to supporters today in Las Vegas the importance of continuing the streak.
“The path to the White House runs right through this field,” Harris told a group of 200 socially distanced supporters at Kianga Isoke Palacio Park.
Harris was in Nevada today during the final push ahead of next week’s general election. She also appeared earlier today in Northern Nevada.
The message remained the same: Joe Biden, her running mate, is vastly different than President Donald Trump and more equipped to lead the nation through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Harris harshly criticized Trump’s actions on the coronavirus, bringing up Trump’s remarks in an interview with Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward in which he admitted to downplaying the potential impact of the virus.
Trump “failed” in his coronavirus response and “forfeited his right to reelection,” Harris said.
“He knew that it was five times more deadly than the flu,” Harris said. “He knew it could impact people of every generation including young people. He knew it was airborne. And yet he held on to that information and covered it up.”
She also criticized the president’s statement in the last presidential debate that the country has “rounded the corner” on the pandemic. Around 226,000 Americans have died from the virus.
Harris touted Biden’s plan to expand the Affordable Care Act and lower Medicare eligibility to age 60. She slammed a Trump administration-backed lawsuit to dismantle the ACA, which would cause over 20 million people to lose health care coverage.
Democrats have framed the election as a duel for the fate of Americans’ health care, especially since the appointment of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court has given that body’s conservative bloc a large majority.
Biden is currently leading Trump in the polls both in Nevada and nationwide. The latest BUSR/UNLV Lee Business School poll has Biden leading Trump in Nevada 50% to 41%, while a New York Times/Siena College poll released Tuesday has Biden leading Trump 49% to 43%.
Nationwide, Biden has a 9.2 point lead, according to an average compiled by polling website FiveThirtyEight.
Other Democrats made a push ahead of Harris’ remarks, with Sen. Jacky Rosen, Rep. Steven Horsford and state Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson advocating for supporters to flock to the polls.
Horsford, whose district covers most of North Las Vegas and a large portion of the state’s rural area, called the election “the most consequential of our lifetimes” in introducing Harris.
“If we want to not just build back but build back in a more equitable and inclusive manner, then we need to make sure that all communities are included in our plans for recovery,” Horsford said.
Voting has been ongoing in Nevada for weeks. Early voting began statewide on Oct. 17, and 42.6% of active voters in the state have already cast their ballots, with 427,581 voting by mail and 342,082 by in person early voting.
Harris said that Democrats should push back on what she called Republican attempts to sow distrust of the voting process heading into the election.
“When we think about this election, we know we have to be organized, we know we have to be motivated, we know we have to spread the word,” Harris said.
