Harris Rallies In Houston
On Friday night, Vice President Kamala Harris touched down in Houston for a rally at Shell Energy Stadium.
The crowd in Houston was well over 20,000 and it was often raucous: dancing to songs spun by a DJ before the main programming started. For many in the large crowd this was the first time in their lifetime they had seen a presidential candidate holding a rally in Texas so close to an election.
Texas is not one of the seven swing states that Harris and her running mate Governor Tim Walz are targeting. But Texas plays a major role in their campaign because it’s a state with a near-total abortion ban.
And the rally with Harris was all about reproductive freedom, as noted by the signs all around the stadium. Two of the speakers were women that had been impacted by the state’s draconian abortion law.
Amanda Zurawski has spent months on the campaign trail with her husband Josh talking about her ordeal after being denied a medically necessary abortion. She was the namesake plaintiff in the case, Zurawski v. Texas, which sought to force the Texas Supreme Court to clarify the medical exceptions for the state’s abortion ban.
And while Zurawski has spent a lot of time speaking to big crowds, another woman impacted by the state’s abortion bans joined her for the first time. Ondrea is from San Antonio and in 2022 she had to have an emergency surgery instead of the proper medical care she needed when her water broke early. She still bears painful scars on the outside and inside from what happened.
Ondrea also appears in a national ad for Harris called “You Will Be Protected,” which nods to recent comments Trump made about being a protector of all women. The ad also includes his brag about appointing the Supreme Court Justices who reversed Roe v. Wade.
The rally also included Houston OB-GYN Todd Ivey, who was joined by several medical colleagues. They chastised what has happened in their state. When somebody fainted in the crowd, one of the doctors quickly sprung into action.
That same type of grit was exhibited by one of the other big names last night: Congressman Colin Allred. He fired up the crowd and got them chanting “Fire Ted Cruz” after he talked about his infamous Cancun trip during Winter Storm Uri. He also spoke about Cruz’s role in January 6 in objecting to the Arizona electors right before the mob took over the Capitol.
Of course there was also some star power on hand. The evening rally was kicked off by actress and mogul Jessica Alba, who spoke about her time living in Del Rio. Willie Nelson also performed two songs. And Vice President Kamala Harris was introduced by Kelly Rowland and Beyoncé.
As for her remarks, Harris really stayed on the message of the evening about reproductive freedom. And while she talked a lot about Donald Trump’s abortion bans, she also put Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton under fire. Harris spoke about his role trying to block Dallas woman Kate Cox from obtaining a medically necessary abortion. She also mentioned that he is suing the federal government to try and access out-of-state abortion records.
“So please do see the irony: On the one hand, Donald Trump won’t let anyone see his medical records,” she told the crowd. “On the other hand, they want to get their hands on yours?”
While Harris did keep telling the crowd in Houston that their voice was their power, it was apparent her stop in Texas was also directed at voters across the country, particularly in the swing states that will likely determine the electoral college. The warnings about a national abortion ban were clear from her. “And though we are in Texas tonight, for anyone watching from another state, know this: If you think you are protected from Trump abortion bans because you live in: Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, New York, California, please know: No one is protected.”
