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    • Walz concludes the Harris Michigan campaign with a rally in Detroit
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    Walz concludes the Harris Michigan campaign with a rally in Detroit

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    Voice hoarse at the end of the final day before the 2024 presidential election, Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz delivered a final message on reproductive rights to Michigan voters late Monday night at a rally in downtown Detroit as the campaign drew to a close . .

    In 2022, about 57% of Michigan voters approved a ballot measure that included an explicit right to abortion in the state’s constitution after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

    Echoing a similar message he delivered in Michigan on Friday, Walz again told the men in the crowd to think about the women in their lives. “Their lives are at stake in this election,” said Walz, who signed an abortion rights bill into law as governor of Minnesota. He talked about how Trump’s appointment of conservative judges paved the way for abortion bans in states across the country. But in the first presidential election, after the U.S. Supreme Court stripped women of the nation’s right to abortion for nearly half a century, Walz said women would deliver a message to Trump in this election. “Whether he likes it or not,” Walz said, echoing Trump’s pledge to protect women “whether they like it.”

    “We’re in the fourth quarter. Two minutes left. The game is tied. But we have the damn ball. And we have the best quarterback on the field in Kamala Harris,” Walz said in a brief speech he delivered. shortly after 10:30 pm Monday evening. “Michigan, bring this thing to America.”

    Walz’s wife, Gwen Walz, spoke just before him and invoked her educational background to fire up voters, describing the election as a high-stakes group project. “And guess what? It has to be done tomorrow, and it’s a success.’

    Republican former President Donald Trump was scheduled to appear in Michigan on Monday evening at a rally in Grand Rapids, where he also ended his 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns.

    In Hart Plaza, where Walz spoke, trees were lit blue and red and iconic downtown Detroit buildings glowed on a drizzly night as the vice presidential candidate watched his supporters at the edge of the Detroit River. A short walk from where Harris supporters gathered, election workers in Detroit have been processing and tabulating ballots from voters in the city in recent days. As of Monday morning, about 33% of Detroit voters already appeared to vote early or absentee. Statewide, about 44% of voters had already voted. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said in a statement Monday evening that Michigan appears to be on track for new elections with high turnout. The state had the highest turnout in 60 years in 2020.

    Several Michigan politicians took the stage before Walz spoke, including Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Lt. Garlin Gilchrist II, U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin and D-Holly, who is vying for an open Michigan U.S. Senate seat in a race against the GOP’s former U.S. representative. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, and U.S. Sen. Gary Peters. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who has been crossing Michigan to run for Democrats, gave a final pitch to Harris’ supporters late Monday night.

    “This is it, folks. The whole world is counting on us,” Whitmer said. “Michigan, we deserve leaders who know and see us. Kamala Harris is that leader.”

    Several musical acts took the stage at the Walz rally on election night in Michigan’s largest city, including the Detroit Youth Choir and a joint performance with Jon Bon Jovi, The War and Treaty and Michael Stipe of REM. “I have one simple question: Who can we rely on to unite us when we are most divided?” Bon Jovi asked. “Kamala,” the crowd responded. After Walz, the musicians returned to the stage and performed an acoustic rendition of “Livin’ on a Prayer.”

    During the rally, a DJ played Motown and pop hits as the crowd and some security personnel sang and danced along. In a presidential cycle sometimes marked by dark and apocalyptic rhetoric, Harris’ supporters seemed determined to have a celebration before the final day of voting on Election Day Tuesday. They danced to “The Wobble” during a musical interlude while waiting to hear from Walz.

    Amanda Marsh, 35, from Washington DC, came to Michigan for some pre-election research and to visit her family from Grosse Pointe. She said she decided to delay her return flight home so she could attend the Walz meeting. Amid the joyful atmosphere, she noted an underlying nervousness about the upcoming elections. “I think Democrats are naturally anxious after everything that happened with Hillary,” she said, referring to Democrat Hillary Clinton’s 2016 loss to Trump.

    Michigan Elections 2024: JD Vance tells Flint audience that Donald Trump will make American Dream affordable

    More: What do I need to vote in Michigan? How to check your registration and what to bring to the polls

    Trump’s campaign destroyed the Walz rally Monday morning. “Free concerts and flashy performances will not change the fact that Michiganders have suffered under the pressure of Kamalanomics and the failed policies of the Harris-Biden administration. Hardworking Michiganders are willing to elect President Trump to put more money in their pockets, secure our border and make life affordable again,” Victoria LaCivita, communications director for Team Trump Michigan, said in a statement Monday morning.

    Eight years ago, Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in Michigan by a margin of 10,704 votes, or a margin of 0.3 percentage points — the smallest of any state — making Michigan the Republican Party’s presidential candidate for the first time since 1988. In 2020, Biden defeated Trump by more than 154,000 votes. or 2.78 percentage points. In this year’s elections, Michigan is once again a critical battleground state.

    Contact Clara Hendrickson at [email protected] or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @clarajanehen.

    Want to know more about this year’s Michigan elections? Check out our voter guide, subscribe to our election newsletter, and feel free to share your thoughts in a letter to the editor.

    This story has been updated to add a message from

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