Kamala Harris targets youth vote in final Michigan campaign stop: 'I see your power’

• Kamala Harris claims ‘momentum is on our side’ as she rallies students, other supporters at Michigan State University
• Young voters a key voting bloc for Harris, who rallied at the University of Michigan six days earlier
• Harris also visited Detroit and Pontiac during her last campaign swing through the swing state before Tuesday’s election

EAST LANSING — In her final Michigan rally before Election Day, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris told a college campus crowd here that “the momentum is on our side” but there is still more work to do.

“Michigan, you will make the difference in this election,” Harris said Sunday evening at Michigan State University’s Jenison Field House, where she urged students to get their friends to the polls on Election Day.

Harris' 22-minute address to a crowd of thousands was mostly stump material she's used in prior visits to Michigan during her short, 15-week campaign. Her appeals to the college-age crowd were plain. The 60-year-old cast herself as “a new generation of leadership” and told students directly, “I love Gen Z.”

The vice president praised them as “rightfully impatient” in wanting change on issues like abortion, gun violence and climate change, 

“This is your lived experience, and I see you, and I see your power, and I am so proud of you,” she said.

Harris did not directly mention her rival, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, but she alluded to him and positioned herself as the change candidate in the race despite spending the past four years as vice president. 

“We have an opportunity in this election to finally turn the page on a decade of politics, driven by fear and division,” she said. “We are done with that, and we are exhausted with it. And America is ready for a fresh start. Ready for a new way forward.”

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With Election Day looming Tuesday, roughly 3 million Michiganders have already cast their ballots, either by mail or through early, in-person voting — more than 40% of all active registered voters in the state. Democrats and Republicans alike have spent the last week making final pushes to drive voters to the polls.

Polling continues to show Harris and Trump effectively tied in Michigan, though some aggregators offer a slight edge to Harris. The latest polls from Sienna College and Mitchell Research indicated Harris tied and two percentage points ahead of Trump respectively, a statistical tie that means either candidate could emerge with a decisive victory in Michigan.

College students’ role

Six days after she said “go blue” at an Ann Arbor rally, Harris on Sunday yelled “go green” at Michigan state, where supporters replied with an enthusiastic “go white.” 

College students remain a crucial voting bloc Democrats are relying on to hand victory to Harris in Michigan, and her campaign’s stops in the crucial final week before the election underscore the campaign’s work they need to do.

Both towns are fertile ground for Democrats — solidly liberal with a large university student body. But Democrats have to also ensure those students are driven to the polls by Election Day, a notoriously difficult challenge.

East Lansing Clerk Marie Wicks told Bridge Sunday night that the city had more than 1,000 early voters that day, bringing their early vote total to more than 5,500 ahead of Election Day. She said they will be converting their on-campus early vote center for Tuesday, allowing students to at once get registered and vote.

Harris  began her address with an acknowledgement of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East and her commitment to reaching a resolution that protected the lives of Arab citizens caught in that conflict.

“I will do everything in my power to end the war in Gaza,” Harris said, echoing statements she made earlier in the week when protestors threatened to disrupt her Ann Arbor speech.

MSU student Jeovannie Mendez said he saw someone get “kicked out for yelling” about the conflict during Harris’ speech, but he told Bridge about half of his friends have been satisfied with her statements on the conflict.

A second-year student at MSU studying electrical engineering, Mendez said abortion, student loans and health care are among the issues that have motivated his vote. Mendez said he has Mexican-American friends who have undocumented family members, but he isn’t catastrophizing.

“I feel very open minded with the outcome,” Mendez said. “No matter what happens, it wouldn't be the worst, but with Kamala being the better option.”

Students interviewed by Bridge at the rally were excited but nervous about the election. Several said they were excited to move past Trump. All were relieved they were able to vote for Harris instead of Democratic President Joe Biden, who ended his reelection campaign in July. 

Harris’ swing through Michigan

Harris’ final day in the state began with Black voter outreach in Detroit and a service at Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ, where she delivered a sermon-like speech that touched on “writing the next chapter of history.”

“A chapter grounded in a divine plan big enough to encompass all of our dreams, a divine plan strong enough to heal division, a divine plan bold enough to embrace possibility — God's plan,” she said. 

This moment, “has to be about so much more than partisan politics. It must be about the good work we can do together,” Harris continued, urging congregants to “turn the page,” a phrase she’s often used when speaking about Trump. 

Detroit has already seen nearly 43,000 early votes cast and more than 86,000 absentee ballots returned. But like in college towns, Election Day turnout in Detroit will be key to Democrats’ hopes.

Harris also stopped at Kuzzo's Chicken & Waffles in Detroit with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Mayor Mike Duggan before visiting a barber shop in Pontiac and traveling to East Lansing.

Harris is expected to close out her campaign in Pennsylvania on Monday, but her running mate Tim Walz is expected to hold an election eve rally in Detroit with musical guests including Jon Bon Jovi. 

JD Vance will speak Monday afternoon in Flint, and Trump will close out his campaign with a late-night speech in Grand Rapids, as he did in both 2016 and 2020.