Fighting to last, Harris steps up as Rocky with vow to realise dreams

Democrat ends campaign in Philadelphia 106 days after Joe Biden withdrew from the race by championing a message of optimism.

Kamala Harris on the steps of Philadelphia’s Museum of Art. Picture: AFP

Kamala Harris has ended her campaign in Philadelphia a full 106 days after Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race by championing a message of optimism, vowing to deliver on the “promise of America” and fight for a future with freedom, opportunity and dignity for all.

Ms Harris took the stage close to midnight, with the late hour forcing thousands to leave before the Vice-President was able to deliver her final campaign speech, which included a patriotic pitch to the Keystone State and appeal for Americans to vote.

“You will decide the outcome of this election, Pennsylvania,” she said. “We are all in this together.”

Judging that “momentum is on our side”, Ms Harris said the ­nation was facing the “most consequential election of our lifetime” and argued her campaign had been grounded in realising the “ambitions and the aspirations and the dreams of the American people”.

Ms Harris swept through Pennsylvania on Monday (Tuesday AEDT), ending the night in Philadelphia after rallying in Pittsburgh. Earlier she campaigned in Allentown before stopping in the city of Reading – the state’s fourth-largest metropolitan centre with a majority Latino population – where she ordered Puerto Rican food at a local restaurant.

Donald Trump had also been campaigning in Reading, with Ms Harris’s visit serving as a reminder that a comedian at the former president’s recent rally in Madison Square Garden had likened ­Puerto Rico to a “floating island of garbage”.

When Ms Harris appeared in Philadelphia on the steps to the Museum of Art, immortalised in the Rocky films, the Democrat nominee likened her campaign to the story of the down-and-out boxer who went on to succeed against the odds.

“It’s good to be back in the city of brotherly love where the foundation of our democracy was forged,” she said. “And here, at these famous steps, a tribute to those who start as the underdog and climb to victory.”

With some having waited for more than 12 hours before the Vice-President appeared, a series of warm-up speakers and performers was rolled out to entertain the crowd – including Lady Gaga, who sang a rendition of God Bless America, and Oprah Winfrey. Ms Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, told the crowd his wife was “always disciplined, always ­focused” while bringing “empathy to every challenge”.

Cherelle Parker, the mayor of Philadelphia, gave a rousing ­address to open the evening and also talked-up the historical importance of the city to the American story. Speaking hours before Ms Harris arrived, Ms Parker said that “a few blocks from here, 248 years ago to be exact, our democracy was born” – a reference to the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Promoting the importance of the state to the outcome of the election, Ms Parker said “the path to the White House is paved through Pennsylvania, the Keystone State” and told the crowd of tens of thousands that “the eyes of the world are on our great commonwealth”.

Democrat senator for Pennsylvania Bob Casey, who is locked in a contest with Republican Dave McCormick, urged Americans to support “Democrats up and down the ballot”. He said Ms Harris was “ready for this moment” and prepared to become “the commander-in-chief and serve as president of the United States of America”.

Rita Stella, a 53-year-old local who was attending the rally, told The Australian that “we are here to see her through and Philly is going to get it won for her”.

“There are a lot of things on the ballot for us,” she said. “Women’s rights are really in danger.”

Twins Brandon and Tristan ­Bacordo, 17, had also come out to support Ms Harris despite not being old enough to vote.

“If Trump wins my rights as a human being are at stake,” said Tristan. “This election is ­generational.”