Hundreds of Kamala Harris supporters attended a rally at Wissahickon High School yesterday, where Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer teamed up to show their support.
David Caplan from Lafayette Hill said he is voting for Harris because “I like her ideas and her attitudes towards the main issues, and I can’t stomach the other side.” He’d like to see Mark Kelly or Andy Beshear as her VP choice. Caplan’s top concerns going into November are abortion and the economy.
Cindy Benedict from Sellersville is voting for Harris because she is a Democrat and she thinks Harris will make a great president and is much better than Trump. VP choice? “Two of them are in this room; she’s got lots of good options.”
Benedict’s top concerns going into November are “equality for women, for families that aren’t traditional families, voting rights,” she said. “I think Trump being a dictator and not following the rule of law is also a big concern. The Republican agenda Project 2025 is a big concern.”
Ronna Dewey from Chester Springs is Pennsylvania Program Director for Red Wine and Blue. She believes Harris is the best person for the job and is excited to support a woman as well. Pete Buttigieg is her top pick for VP.
“The number one issue is preserving our freedoms no matter what they are,” Dewey said. “Project 2025 is scary when you look at what’s inside of it. Donald Trump might be trying to distance himself from it, but his hands are all over it. I’m most concerned about reproductive freedom as well as LGBTQ rights and public education.”
Whitmer said she does the work she does because it is about every single one of us. Raised in a bipartisan household, her father worked for a Republican governor and her mom worked for a Democratic attorney general.
“They taught me the same thing I know a lot of people in this room were taught – the value of our work,” said Whitmer. “My first job was at a lumber yard. I also stocked shelves at Target. When I went to Michigan State University, I did an internship at the AFL-CIO. That is when I fell in love with public policy which is why I support that the working men and women of this country have voices and leaders who care about them.”
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Whitmer spoke about being part of the sandwich generation — her mother battled cancer at age 59 and she had just given birth to her daughter. “I remember long nights worrying about my baby and arranging her childcare, fighting with my mom’s insurance company, making sure that I was ready for work the next day and my bills were paid on time,” she said. “So many Americans, so many Pennsylvanians know what I’m talking about. This is what Americans juggle every single day. I was lucky. I had a great job. I had daycare, I had my family. I had a voice in my community.”
Whitmer said that’s what every American in this country deserves — a job that pays enough to take care of your family with fair wages and good benefits, dignity, decency and respect. She said Harris agrees with her on this.
Pennsylvanians like Michiganders “disagree during Big 10 football season, but we got a lot in common,” she said. “We care about one another. We’re willing to show up and do hard, tough work. And we take pride in that work, but we expect to have our freedoms protected.”
She cited Trump’s attack on Social Security and repealing the Affordable Care Act.
“He appointed Supreme Court justices, he cut taxes for himself and his buddies, and he tried overturning an election. JD Vance has made his values clear lately,” said Whitmer. “He does not see women as equals. He does not want everyone to have a seat at the table. He’s scared of us. Because Democrats – we want everyone to have a seat at the table.”
Shapiro said Harris stands up for people every day. “She was a tough as nails prosecutor who went after dangerous criminals, but also had a heart to stand up for victims. She was an attorney general like me. She wasn’t afraid to take on the powerful; she took on those opioid companies. She took on the polluters, and when she looked them in the eye, she won every single time.”
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Harris stood up every day as a United States Senator, fighting for the middle class, fighting every day for our working families, he added.
Shapiro cited Project 2025 as scary.
“It’s an agenda to take away your freedom,” he said. “It is an agenda to use the police and the military in this country to settle scores with his enemies. It’s an agenda to pollute our air, and it’s an agenda to undermine our public health and our public safety. Trump’s more dangerous because he knows what he is doing. He’s told us what he wants to do.”
