Kamala Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff makes campaign stop in State College to rally voters
Dozens of Democratic supporters joined Doug Emhoff Wednesday for an impromptu event in State College, boasting support for the Biden-Harris presidential ticket and the man they hope will be the first second gentleman of the United States.
“I’m not doing it because I love my wife,” Emhoff said of vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris. “I’m doing it for my country. I’m doing it for Joe, and I’m doing it so we can have change. I do love her, but I’m doing it for our country.”
Emhoff traveled to Lehigh and Centre counties Wednesday to promote presidential candidate Joe Biden and his running mate and encourage voters — especially young ones — to make their voices heard by voting in the Nov. 3 election.
In 2016, Democrats lost in Pennsylvania by 44,000 votes, so Emhoff’s visit serves as an attempt to win what he called “so-called swing districts.”
“If we win here, we’re going to win this state, and we’re going to win this election,” he said.
Wednesday’s stop came one week after Donald Trump Jr. held a rally attended by hundreds in Benner Township where he endorsed his father’s campaign for a second term and highlighted the administration’s “promises made and promises kept.”
But with Mount Nittany Medical Center in the shadow of Wednesday’s socially distant rally, Emhoff described four crises the United States is faced with — the COVID-19 pandemic, economic recovery, climate change and racial injustice.
“We are a country in pain right now,” Emhoff said, describing challenges faced by front-line workers, students, business owners and families. “We are a country in pain.”
These problems, Emhoff said, are issues President Donald Trump and his administration have failed to solve.
“American carnage is here — caused by him, caused by this failure of an administration for the last four years, and we cannot trust the same people who so miserably messed this up to fix it,” Emhoff said, referencing Trump’s 2017 inaugural address. “We cannot. We’ve got to get out of this.”
If elected, Emhoff said Biden and Harris will be guided by science, prioritize helping those struggling financially amid the pandemic and work to create a fair and more equal society.
“You are all sick and tired of what is going on at this lack of leadership, this lack of compassion, this lack of caring,” he said. “And we are doing this the right way. We are wearing masks. We are social distancing, and we are not holding super-spreaders all over this country. It’s just irresponsible, and it’s going to change. It’s going to change in six days.”
But nothing will change unless people vote, he added.
“Elections matter, and people realize that,” he said. “You know your vote is your voice, and when you vote, things change.”
This story was originally published October 28, 2020 at 5:19 PM.
