Harris kicks off college tour targeting younger voters

by Nick Robertson - 09/14/23 10:35 PM ET

Vice President Harris began a seven-state tour over the upcoming month Thursday, targeting college campuses to court young voters.

Her “Fight for Our Freedoms” college tour will focus on issues that especially impact young people, such as abortion rights, climate change and LGBTQ rights, the White House said.

“This generation is critical to the urgent issues that are at stake right now for our future,” Harris said in a statement. “It is young leaders throughout America who know what the solutions look like and are organizing in their communities to make them a reality. My message to students is clear: We are counting on you, we need you, you are everything.”

The tour began Thursday at Hampton University in Virginia, where the vice president emphasized the importance of voting and voting rights. Early voting in Virginia’s Legislature elections begins Friday.

“We’ve got a fight on our hands right now. We are fighting for our democracy, and this is real,” she said. “These attacks on voting rights, on a person’s ability to make decisions about their own body, on issues like affirmative action, on issues that are about what makes for reasonable gun safety laws. This stuff is real. And it’s happening right now in real-time. But I am optimistic, because I know that our leaders are up for this challenge and will not be denied.”

The Virginia elections are believed to be a critical bellwether for Democrats, as they are seen as a referendum on Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Youngkin has pushed for a 15-week ban on abortion, as well as other conservative issues that Democrats have opposed.

Democrats currently hold a slight majority in the state senate, while Republicans hold a slight edge in the state House. Every seat is up for election this year.

Harris will also visit North Carolina A&T, Morehouse College, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the College of Southern Nevada and Northern Arizona University.

She will be in Greensboro, N.C., at North Carolina A&T on Friday, and in Atlanta at Morehouse on Sept. 25.

The first three stops are at historically Black schools, which Harris and the White House have targeted for voter outreach. The College of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas is a majority-Hispanic institution.

The dates for the remaining three visits have not been announced.