Harris tells Democrats ‘stakes could not be higher’ as the midterms near – ABC News
With the midterm elections less than two months away, Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday said the "stakes could not be higher" as both parties wrestle for control of Congress.
Speaking at the Democratic National Committee's summer meeting in Maryland, Harris echoed President Joe Biden's recent attacks on "MAGA" Republican leaders who he says are a threat to the nation.
"We need to speak truth about that," Harris said. "Today, we all by coming together reaffirm that we refuse to let extremist, so-called leaders dismantle our democracy."
The vice president criticized the fallout from the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade as one example of such leaders attempting to "take away freedoms." At least 15 states have ceased nearly abortion services since the court's ruling in late June.
Harris warned Republicans could decide to ban abortion nationwide or go after other rights such as contraception or marriage equality if they become the majority in the House and Senate.
"Without a Democratic majority and conference, who knows what other rights they will come after?" she asked.
She condemned Republicans who say issues like abortion rights should be left up to individual states while also "intentionally make it more difficult for people in those states to vote" and called out three states -- Florida, Texas and Georgia -- for restrictive laws targeting abortion rights and the LGBTQ community.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, Sept. 9, 2022.
Adam Davis/POOL/EPA via Shutterstock, FILE
Like Biden, she also framed the midterm elections as a stark choice between the Democrats' agenda and that of some of their Republican colleagues.
"If there was any question about whether there's a difference between the parties, well, over the last 18 months, it has become crystal clear," she said. "There is a big difference. We all know that American families have been struggling but while Republican Party leaders have gone on TV to opine about the situation, Democrats actually did something about it."
The vice president went on to tout administrative accomplishments on COVID-19 relief, infrastructure, gun safety and the announcement of student debt cancelation.
Other parts of the Biden-Harris agenda, including child care and voting rights, have stalled in Congress but Harris said if Democrats can pick up two more seats in the Senate more can be done -- specifically highlighting her role as the Senate's tie-breaking vote.
"In our first year in office, some historians here may know, I actually broke John Adams's record of casting the most tie breaking votes in a single term," she said, before adding: "I cannot wait to cast the deciding vote to break the filibuster on voting rights and reproductive rights."
Biden has called on the Senate to change the filibuster rules to pass voting reforms and to codify Roe but was met with opposition from Republicans and a few members of the Democratic Party.
Republicans, in their midterm messaging, have criticized the Biden administration over inflation, gas prices and crime.
The GOP has been generally favored to win back control of the House and Senate this cycle but recent legislative and electoral wins are signs Democrats' odds may be improving.
Harris celebrated Democrat Mary Peltola's victory over Republican Sarah Palin in Alaska's special election for the state's vacant U.S. House seat, as well as Kansas voters rejecting an anti-abortion ballot measure.
"We've got momentum on our side," she said.
ABC News' Justin Gomez contributed to this report.
Visit link:
Harris tells Democrats 'stakes could not be higher' as the midterms near - ABC News
- Trump's Republican Party is increasingly winning union voters. It's a shift seen in his labor pick - The Associated Press - November 24th, 2024 [November 24th, 2024]
- Column: With veto power back, N.C. Democrats have restored a safeguard against Republican extremism - The Daily Tar Heel - November 24th, 2024 [November 24th, 2024]
- House Republican Bills Deeply Cut Programs That Help Low-Income People and Underserved Communities - Center on Budget and Policy Priorities - November 24th, 2024 [November 24th, 2024]
- Letter: What does the Republican Party stand for? - INFORUM - November 24th, 2024 [November 24th, 2024]
- Meet the Republican and Democratic senators of the 119th Congress - The Washington Post - November 24th, 2024 [November 24th, 2024]
- Trumps agenda will face hurdles in Congress, despite the Republican trifecta of winning the House, Senate and White House - The Conversation - November 24th, 2024 [November 24th, 2024]
- Congressional Republican Leaders Start to Show Their Hand: Draconian Medicaid Cuts on the Agenda for Next Year - Georgetown Center for Children and... - November 24th, 2024 [November 24th, 2024]
- Republican blocks promotion of general involved in Afghanistan withdrawal - The Guardian US - November 24th, 2024 [November 24th, 2024]
- North Texas Republican wants to zero out the budget for any public university president offering LGBTQ studies - WFAA.com - November 24th, 2024 [November 24th, 2024]
- Republican Senator on DOJ political interference: I dont think we know that one way or the other - The Hill - November 24th, 2024 [November 24th, 2024]
- Gov. Newsom announces jobs initiative in California county that flipped to Republican support - CBS News - November 24th, 2024 [November 24th, 2024]
- Jamelle Bouie: Its a republican form of government, not a monarchy. With explicit intent - St. Paul Pioneer Press - November 24th, 2024 [November 24th, 2024]
- Trump got a red trifecta in Washington. But will he face any Republican Party pushback? - USA TODAY - November 16th, 2024 [November 16th, 2024]
- The Republican and Democratic parties are killing electoral reform across the US - The Guardian - November 16th, 2024 [November 16th, 2024]
- Inside the Republican false-flag effort to turn off Kamala Harris voters - The Washington Post - November 16th, 2024 [November 16th, 2024]
- Trump, Republican Congress Health Care Proposals Could Pose Risks to Access and Affordability - Center on Budget and Policy Priorities - November 16th, 2024 [November 16th, 2024]
- Republican Victory and the Ambience of Information - The New Yorker - November 16th, 2024 [November 16th, 2024]
- Republican Leaders Are More Afraid of Trump Than Ever - The Atlantic - November 16th, 2024 [November 16th, 2024]
- Pence Urges Republican Senators Not to Confirm R.F.K. Jr., Citing His Support of Abortion Rights - The New York Times - November 16th, 2024 [November 16th, 2024]
- Republican John Thune of South Dakota is elected the next Senate majority leader - ABC News - November 16th, 2024 [November 16th, 2024]
- Dan Newhouse, Republican who voted to impeach Trump, wins reelection - Axios - November 16th, 2024 [November 16th, 2024]
- Oregon House Republican leader cites endless drama with his party as reason for departure - OregonLive - November 16th, 2024 [November 16th, 2024]
- What a Republican trifecta will mean for governing - The Economist - November 8th, 2024 [November 8th, 2024]
- When is the last time a Republican has won popular vote? Trump would be first in 20 years - USA TODAY - November 8th, 2024 [November 8th, 2024]
- Republican sweep in Texas also extended to states appellate courts - The Texas Tribune - November 8th, 2024 [November 8th, 2024]
- Six GOP lawmakers poised for power on health care as the Senate flips Republican - STAT - November 8th, 2024 [November 8th, 2024]
- Trump wins Alaska, for the 15th consecutive Republican victory in the state - Alaska Beacon - November 8th, 2024 [November 8th, 2024]
- California Republican who impeached Trump wins reelection - The Hill - November 8th, 2024 [November 8th, 2024]
- Republican Christi Craddick reelected to Railroad Commission, the states oil and gas regulatory agency - The Texas Tribune - November 8th, 2024 [November 8th, 2024]
- Nevada on verge of voting Republican for first time in two decades - The Guardian US - November 8th, 2024 [November 8th, 2024]
- Inside the Republican victories in suburban New York: 'fed up with one party Democratic rule' - Fox News - November 8th, 2024 [November 8th, 2024]
- In Georgia, its Republican vs. Republican as election misinformation spreads - CNN - November 8th, 2024 [November 8th, 2024]
- Republican mega-donors asked their employees who they will vote for in survey - The Guardian US - November 8th, 2024 [November 8th, 2024]
- A Unified Republican Congress Would Give Trump Broad Power for His Agenda - The New York Times - October 31st, 2024 [October 31st, 2024]
- The Republican Supreme Court just blessed an illegal voter purge, in Beals v. Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights - Vox.com - October 31st, 2024 [October 31st, 2024]
- How Connecticut transformed from a Republican state to among the most Democratic - CT Insider - October 31st, 2024 [October 31st, 2024]
- How attacks on Republican voters became the third rail of partisan politics - Semafor - October 31st, 2024 [October 31st, 2024]
- Democratic Senator tries to swim upstream in increasingly Republican Ohio - Reuters - October 31st, 2024 [October 31st, 2024]
- We have to blow it up: can never-Trumpers retake the Republican party? - The Guardian US - October 31st, 2024 [October 31st, 2024]
- Opinion | A Democratic and a Republican Pollster Agree: This Is the Fault Line That Decides the Election - The New York Times - October 31st, 2024 [October 31st, 2024]
- In Montana, Republican Tim Sheehy Tries to Outrun Jon Tester, and Scrutiny - The New York Times - October 31st, 2024 [October 31st, 2024]
- I was the director of the Michigan Republican Party. I will vote for Kamala Harris. - City Pulse - October 31st, 2024 [October 31st, 2024]
- Polls and prediction markets are signaling a Republican sweep in the election - Fortune - October 31st, 2024 [October 31st, 2024]
- NY Republican in critical House race spent huge sums of campaign cash on steakhouses, booze, Ubers and a foreign hostel - CNN - October 28th, 2024 [October 28th, 2024]
- 'Republican voters remain overwhelmingly committed to Trump, whatever he may say or do' - Le Monde - October 28th, 2024 [October 28th, 2024]
- Trump and the millionaires: How the Republican Party bet on the very, very rich - Semafor - October 28th, 2024 [October 28th, 2024]
- Michigan's election fate will depend on laborers. A Democrat and Republican outline what those workers are looking for. - Business Insider - October 28th, 2024 [October 28th, 2024]
- Voters must find Trump unworthy of high office (The Republican Editorials) - MassLive.com - October 28th, 2024 [October 28th, 2024]
- Opinion | How Donald Trump Jr. Conquered the Republican Party - The New York Times - October 26th, 2024 [October 26th, 2024]
- Nothing is more important than your health - Marshalltown Times Republican - October 26th, 2024 [October 26th, 2024]
- Deciphering the Republican campaigns strategy to win the Latino vote: They speak the same to everyone - EL PAS USA - October 26th, 2024 [October 26th, 2024]
- Trump has made gains with Latino men. Why they're voting Republican and how Harris is addressing it. - NBC News - October 26th, 2024 [October 26th, 2024]
- Speaker Mike Johnson fights to save the House Republican majority and his job - NBC News - October 26th, 2024 [October 26th, 2024]
- Republican lawsuits over overseas and military voting hit setbacks in 2 swing states - NPR - October 26th, 2024 [October 26th, 2024]
- History-making Republican who was first and only woman speaker of Ohio House dies - WYSO Public Radio - October 26th, 2024 [October 26th, 2024]
- What to know about Republican challenges to overseas and military voting - NPR - October 26th, 2024 [October 26th, 2024]
- Early-voting data shows Republican reversal appears to be paying off - The Washington Post - October 26th, 2024 [October 26th, 2024]
- Opinion | How Would Trump Handle Foreign Policy in a Second Term? Two Republican Experts Tell Us. - The New York Times - October 26th, 2024 [October 26th, 2024]
- Which Republican Might Join a Harris Cabinet? We Asked Around. - The New York Times - October 26th, 2024 [October 26th, 2024]
- Michigan judge rejects Republican bid to block overseas voters - Reuters - October 26th, 2024 [October 26th, 2024]
- Georgias Republican secretary of state finds just 20 noncitizens registered to vote out of 8.2 million - CNN - October 26th, 2024 [October 26th, 2024]
- Republican Early Vote Turnout Is Up In Battleground States - Newsweek - October 26th, 2024 [October 26th, 2024]
- A lifelong Republican transitions to a new party, years after gender reassignment surgery - The Associated Press - October 26th, 2024 [October 26th, 2024]
- Republican Club of Northeast Volusia County donates over $8,000 to Barracks of Hope - Palm Coast Observer and Ormond Beach Observer - October 26th, 2024 [October 26th, 2024]
- Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance to visit Wilmington. Here's what to know - StarNewsOnline.com - October 12th, 2024 [October 12th, 2024]
- Column | The most Republican and Democratic cuisines, according to campaign funds - The Washington Post - October 12th, 2024 [October 12th, 2024]
- Letters to the Editor: The Republican Partys future is bright, even if Trump loses - Los Angeles Times - October 12th, 2024 [October 12th, 2024]
- Dont ignore Republican attacks on the U.S. Constitution | READER COMMENTARY - Baltimore Sun - October 12th, 2024 [October 12th, 2024]
- North Carolina Republican pushes back on hurricane misinformation: "Nobody can control the weather" - CBS News - October 12th, 2024 [October 12th, 2024]
- Hurricane Milton Will Be Devastating. Republican Lies Are Going to Make It Worse - Vanity Fair - October 12th, 2024 [October 12th, 2024]
- How hurricane falsehoods are dividing the Republican Party - The Washington Post - October 12th, 2024 [October 12th, 2024]
- Column: Donald Trump seems to think he's losing. Would the Republican Party survive his defeat? - Los Angeles Times - October 12th, 2024 [October 12th, 2024]
- A month from election day, a Republican push to disqualify certain votes is underway : Trump's Trials - NPR - October 12th, 2024 [October 12th, 2024]
- A firehose of antisemitic disinformation from China is pointing at two Republican legislators - The Washington Post - October 12th, 2024 [October 12th, 2024]
- Even Marjorie Taylor Greenes Republican Colleagues Think Her Weather-Control Claims Are Nuts - Vanity Fair - October 12th, 2024 [October 12th, 2024]
- New billboards in Van Buren claim voting Republican will help keep 'porn' out of the county library - KFSM 5Newsonline - October 12th, 2024 [October 12th, 2024]
- This is not the Reagan Republican Party I fell in love with - The Dallas Morning News - September 28th, 2024 [September 28th, 2024]
- Which issues do Americans think the Democratic and Republican Parties do a better job handling? - YouGov US - September 28th, 2024 [September 28th, 2024]
- 'Not accurate': The Republican mayor in Aurora is pushing back at Trump's migrant depictions - NBC News - September 28th, 2024 [September 28th, 2024]
- This Republican politician 'borrows' wife and children for photoshoot - The Times of India - September 28th, 2024 [September 28th, 2024]