MADISON – Vice President Kamala Harris delivered her closing remarks to Wisconsin’s liberal stronghold Wednesday night for a high-energy rally packed with thousands of people and plenty of star power.

Billed as a “When We Vote, We Win” rally and concert, the event featured performances by musicians Gracie Abrams, Mumford & Sons, Remi Wolf, and The National’s Matt Berninger and Aaron Dessner.

“Madison, we have an opportunity in this election to turn the page on a decade of Donald Trump trying to keep us divided and afraid of each other,” Harris told a crowd of more than 13,000 people at the Alliant Energy Center. he said. “That’s who he is, but Madison, that’s not who we are.”

He later added: “And in less than 90 days it will be either him or me in the Oval Office.”

Some takeaways from Harris’ event held the same night: Trump rallies his supporters near Green Bay.

Harris speaks to students, young adults and first-time voters

UW-Madison students and other young voters made up most of the crowd.

Harris focused some of her comments directly on them during her 22-minute speech.

“Every day, I see the promise of America in all the young leaders who vote for the first time. And I love your generation. I just love you. And let me tell you why,” Harris said as she cheered. “One of the reasons is that you are all rightfully impatient with change.”

He praised young people for trying to address issues like climate change, gun violence and abortion rights.

“I see you and your strength,” Harris said. “I see your strength. And I’m so proud of you. Can we hear that for our first-time voters?”

“There is nothing in the world that will stop me from fighting for you,” he added.

It’s like a concert with a get-out-the-vote vibe

Harris supporters began flocking to the arena around 3 p.m. to a mix of Beyoncé and Taylor Swift songs. It started raining at 5.30pm, but hundreds of people lined up to get in.

One banner invited people to make friendship bracelets; This was a tribute to global superstar Taylor Swift, who supported Harris in September.

And a banner across the stage that reads “Badgers for Harris-Walz” points to the critical role UW-Madison students and other young voters are expected to play in the election.

For some of the young voters who filled the arena, this was the first political rally they had ever attended. And the musicians provided extra encouragement.

“I could be in the same room as our future president,” said Jessica Amaya, 29, of Chicago. “Why don’t you be here?”

Amaya, who joined her cousin Michelle Leon, a UW-Madison freshman, at the event, said she is a big fan of Mumford & Sons.

“Seeing a woman of color on the ballot and having a chance is incredibly empowering,” Amaya said. “I never thought I would see this this early in my life.”

Leon, also from Chicago, registered to vote in Wisconsin, where he said his vote would make more of a difference. He said the process on campus is easy to navigate.

For Blackhawk Technical College student Lou McCully, Wednesday’s event was their third rally. McCully, who uses they/them pronouns, said LGBTQ rights are important to them and their girlfriends.

Harris was McCully’s main attraction. But the music didn’t hurt.

“I. Love. Gracie. Abrams.” said McCully.

Abrams and other musicians urged people to vote.

“We inherited a struggling world, and it’s easy to become disconnected and frustrated,” Abrams said. “We’ve been through things in our childhood, between the advent of social media and Covid-19 and the relentlessly targeted disinformation. It’s easy to get discouraged. But we know better. Unless we vote and keep our democracy intact, we know that. There’s nothing we can do to fix it when it’s our turn.”

Mumford and Sons frontman Marcus Mumford also said that as a California native, he was proud to vote for Harris and Tim Walz.

Governor Tony Evers references ‘Mean Girls’

Gov. Tony Evers urged rallygoers to support Democrats up and down, and made sure to give a shout-out to U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin: He is in a tight race against businessman Eric Hovde.

“He’s not even going here!” Evers said, referencing a popular line from the movie “Mean Girls” and referencing Hovde’s California ties.

To thunderous applause, Evers said the era of gerrymandered maps was over. He also said Democrats would protect abortion rights, take climate change seriously and support LGBTQ rights.

“Your vote will matter now more than ever,” he said.

Evers also mispronounced Harris’ name, but insisted he wouldn’t hold it against her.

“I know him,” Evers said. “He will forgive me.”

Badgers women’s volleyball players get hugs from Harris

When Harris entered the Alliant Energy Center, she was greeted by Evers and the University of Wisconsin-Madison women’s volleyball team.

Team members held their breath as Harris hugged them one by one and said it was nice to meet them. He also said the No. 7-seeded Badgers have an “outstanding team.”

One of the actors was heard saying to her, “You are so beautiful.”

The rally comes amid anger over the final stretch of the campaign

The incident comes as Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump are making the final push in Wisconsin and other swing states ahead of Election Day on Tuesday. Two candidates face each other According to a Marquette University School of Law survey released Wednesday..

Democrats constantly expanded Voting and overall turnout shares in Dane County, Wisconsin’s fastest-growing county. And they clearly hope to continue this trend.

But Republicans are trying to make gains in Denmark. Tulsi Gabbard and RFK Jr. They held an event in Madison on Tuesday night. They urged attendees to vote for Trump and persuade your family and friends to do the same.

“I don’t think Wisconsinites will believe Kamala’s desperate attempt to rewrite her disastrous record,” Trump campaign spokesman Jacob Fischer said.

Harris and Trump, along with their campaign friends and surrogates, have become regular visitors to Wisconsin and other battleground states in recent months.

On Monday, Ohio US Sen. Trump’s running mate JD Vance visits Racine and Wausau is Tim Walz, Harris’ running mateHe stopped in Manitowoc and Waukesha to court Republicans considering voting for Harris.

Both Harris and Trump are expected to return to Wisconsin on Friday.

This story has been updated to include new information.

Mary Spicuzza can be reached at [email protected] and @MSpicuzzaMJS on X.. You can reach Laura Schulte at [email protected] and at X: @SchulteLaura.

This article first appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Takeaways from Harris rally in Madison featuring Gracie Abrams