Kamala Harris sinks her teeth into NC holding two post-debate rallies

Coming off the heels of a fiery debate, and her first time meeting Donald Trump in person, Vice President Kamala Harris quickly hopped back on the campaign trail.

As a part of her "New Way Forward" battleground tour, she touched down in North Carolina for two rallies Thursday – one in Charlotte in the afternoon and another in Greensboro that evening.

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With less than 60 days to the election, she’s got a busy schedule and part of that plan includes the Tar Heel State, which has voted Republican the past three election cycles.

There was a line wrapping around the building to get into the Greensboro Coliseum Complex main arena, which can hold 22,000 people. Once inside, thousands filled the stands with light-up bracelets shimmering from blue to pink to yellow all in unison.

It felt less like a political event and more like a concert before Harris took the stage with music bumping throughout the stadium and an appearance from the Brothers Osborne.

Gov. Roy Cooper, who has been by Harris' side amid her emergence into the top ticket spot, said even if voters don't agree with her on everything, they can count on her to fight for them.

"Kamala's ready. The question is, the question is, are we?" Cooper asked the crowd, which responded with a loud cheer, adding that if she can win North Carolina, she will win the presidency.

Harris took the stage for about 15 minutes, first focusing on her reflections from the debate against Trump and calling for a second one. She mocked Trump for saying he had "concepts of a plan" during the debate.

She continued her plea to appeal to the middle class with her opportunity economy plan by outlining her $50,000 tax deduction for start-up businesses.

"I know where I came from," Harris said as she recalled her mother who worked long hours and her childhood "second mother" who helped take care of Harris and her sister who was a small business owner.

Harris said she hopes to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and a ban on assault weapons if elected.

She threw in an endorsement for Democratic candidate for North Carolina's next governor Josh Stein and ended by saying the stakes of this election are even higher than 2016 or 2020 because of the Supreme Court's decision in the presidential immunity case.

Just imagine "Donald Trump with no guard rails," she said.

Speaking to the lively crowd, she ended by calling herself the "underdog," but assuring the crowd that "we like hard work."

This trip was Harris’ 17th stop in the state since serving as President Joe Biden’s right-hand woman. Her husband, Doug Emhoff, and her running mate's wife, Gwen Walz, also made stops in Raleigh and Asheville recently as part of their reproductive freedom bus tour. And the last time Harris visited, she chose to unveil her economic plan, which emphasized supporting the middle class through tax cuts, $25,000 for first-time homebuyers' down payment, rent controls, a $35 cap on insulin for everyone and a federal ban on grocery price-gouging.

Both campaigns are putting emphasis on securing control of the state. On one side, Republicans are working to maintain their thick history of red votes. On the other hand, Democrats are trying to take advantage of population and diversity growth along with a newfound energy about Harris to swing the state blue.

With Trump winning the state by just about 1.3 percentage points in 2020 and an average of polls from FiveThirtyEight showing the opponents neck and neck as of September, it's anyone's game.

Trump was also recently in Charlotte, gaining an endorsement from the Fraternal Order of Police.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Kamala Harris holds rallies in Charlotte, Greensboro, NC, after debate