Harris and Walz Electrify Crowd at Inaugural Nevada Rally as Democratic Presidential Ticket

Vice President Kamala Harris, during a lively rally in Las Vegas on Saturday, highlighted the surge of enthusiasm surrounding her recently launched presidential campaign but cautioned supporters that the battle against former President Donald Trump will be tough.

“We have just 87 days until the election,” she addressed a packed audience at the Thomas & Mack Center. “We know this will be a close race right up to the end.”

Saturday's event marked Harris' seventh visit to Nevada this year, but her first as the Democratic presidential nominee. The rally, which came roughly three weeks after President Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race and endorsed Harris as the party’s nominee, concluded a five-day, six-state tour aimed at introducing swing state voters to her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

According to the Harris-Walz campaign, more than 12,000 people attended the rally, with an estimated 4,000 being turned away by local authorities due to concerns about overheating in the triple-digit heat while waiting to clear event security.

Walz acknowledged those who couldn't make it inside the venue, reassuring them, “Don’t worry, we’re going to be back a lot.”

Throughout the event, Harris, Walz, and other speakers struck a balance between issuing serious warnings about the stakes of the election—particularly regarding personal freedoms and democracy—and celebrating the prospect of electing the country’s first female president.

Walz expressed his appreciation for the positivity Harris and her supporters have brought to the campaign, stating, “She has reminded us that politics can be about goodness. It can be about smiling. It’s hard work, but we can find joy in it. Kamala Harris has brought joy back into our politics.”

Before the speeches, DJ D-Nice energized the crowd for about an hour, with attendees dancing and singing while waving campaign signs. Among the crowd were some homemade signs, including one that read “Coach Walz,” a nod to the governor’s days as a high school football coach, and another that playfully referred to Harris as “brat,” a term of endearment popularized by Gen Z and inspired by Charli XCX’s new album.

In her remarks, Harris emphasized that the stakes of the 2024 election are “even higher” than in previous elections, especially after a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that grants criminal immunity to presidents for actions taken while in office.

“Someone who suggests we should terminate the Constitution should never again stand behind the seal of the President of the United States,” she declared to thunderous applause, referencing a statement Trump made on social media in 2022.

Harris criticized Trump for undermining a bipartisan immigration reform package and linked him to Project 2025, a comprehensive 922-page plan developed by a right-wing think tank that aims to significantly expand presidential powers and overhaul the federal government. The plan includes proposals to weaken worker rights, dismantle public unions, renew efforts to store nuclear waste in Southern Nevada, and roll back LGBTQ+ rights.

“I still can’t believe they put that in writing,” Harris remarked.

Walz echoed her concerns, noting that “when someone draws up a blueprint, they intend to use it.”

Harris contrasted her professional experience with Trump’s, highlighting that she prosecuted predatory for-profit universities as Attorney General while Trump ran one, and specialized in prosecuting sexual abuse cases while Trump was found liable for sexual abuse.

Walz leaned into the recent trend of labeling the policies promoted by Trump and his allies as “weird,” stating, “We don’t have to agree with them or make the same choices, but we know this nation works best when you mind your own damn business. I don’t need their help choosing books to read, nor do I need any lectures on morality from them. And when it comes to my family, they can mind their own damn business.”

Walz and his wife had their daughter, Hope, after years of fertility treatment and in vitro fertilization (IVF), a process that has been impacted by strict anti-abortion laws passed in some states following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Walz emphasized Harris’ commitment to protecting reproductive rights, enacting common-sense gun laws, and further reforming federal student loan programs.

“I know I’m preaching to the choir,” Walz told the crowd, “but the choir needs to sing.”

Recent polls indicate Harris is leading Trump in key swing states and remains in a tight race in others. The Trump campaign, however, has downplayed the polls, suggesting the enthusiasm won’t last until Election Day in November.

“Let’s not focus too much on the polls,” Harris urged the crowd, “because we have hard work ahead of us. But we like hard work.”

Nevada Democrats Rally Behind Harris

Harris and Walz were joined at the rally by all five of Nevada’s Congressional Democrats. 

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, a “good friend” of Harris, spoke of their collaboration as attorneys general of neighboring states—Cortez Masto served as Nevada’s AG from 2007 to 2015, and Harris was California’s AG from 2011 to 2017. Both women transitioned to the U.S. Senate after their terms as AGs.

Cortez Masto reminded the crowd of her narrow 2022 reelection victory by less than 1% of the vote, which was crucial in helping Democrats maintain their slim majority in the U.S. Senate.

“It’s a reminder that every vote counts,” she said.

Senator Jacky Rosen, facing a tough race against Republican Sam Brown, is in a closely watched contest that could be pivotal in determining which party controls the Senate.

Congresswoman Susie Lee, who is up for reelection in a competitive district, accused Trump of wanting to raise the age for accessing Social Security and cutting benefits by 30%. She led the crowd in chanting, “That’s not just weird. That’s just wrong.”

Congresswoman Dina Titus, who is also up for reelection in a district that leans blue, took a lighter approach on stage, referring to herself as “one of the childless cat ladies” that Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance criticized in 2021 on Fox News. Vance had said the Democratic Party was run by “corporate oligarchs” and “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable in their own lives and with the choices they’ve made.” Titus quipped that while Vance had apologized to cats, he had not apologized to her.

“You’d better hide behind that sofa,” she warned, “because we’re coming for you.”

The reference to a sofa was likely a jab at a viral internet joke that suggested Vance wrote about having sex with a couch in his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.”

Titus also highlighted her time serving alongside Walz on the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, noting that Walz served 24 years in the Army National Guard.

The Culinary Union, a key organizing force for Democrats, endorsed the Harris-Walz ticket a day before the rally. Both candidates acknowledged the union on stage, recognizing its importance to the Democratic campaign.

Harris reiterated her support for raising the minimum wage and ending the taxation of tips, a policy Trump also mentioned during a June rally in Las Vegas. Senators Rosen and Cortez Masto have both backed bipartisan legislation to end taxation on tips.

Tillie Torres, an English teacher from Las Vegas, spoke about receiving student loan forgiveness through the Biden-Harris administration. Torres shared her story of battling cancer and caring for her injured husband while her $40,000 in student loans ballooned to $87,000. She ultimately qualified for the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which predates the current administration but was reformed under Biden to be more accessible. As of earlier this year, an estimated 793,000 people have received $56.8 billion in loan forgiveness.

Torres credited her daughter, Nevada State Assemblywoman Selena Torres, for informing her about the program, which she said provided her with “financial freedom for the first time.”