Democrats enlisted some of their highest-profile women to get out the vote in the final days of Kathy Hochul’s landmark campaign to become the first female elected governor of New York.
Vice President Kamala Harris greets a welcoming crowd at Barnard. “We’ll fight for the principles that we know we hold dear…” she told the Democratic faithful. “And when we fight, we win.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and state Attorney General Letitia James—who is running for a second term as New York’s first woman in that post—joined Hochul at a Barnard College rally Thursday.
“We are here today because there’s nothing….more powerful than a room full of young people who are committed to change,” said state Attorney General Letitia James.
With less than a week before Election Day on Nov. 8, Hochul—who took office after Andrew Cuomo resigned in August 2021 amid a wave of sexual-harassment allegations—told supporters that young voters should be mindful of the sacrifices made by previous generations.
A Hochul backer at the Barnard event, which was organized by the Columbia University Democrats.
Clinton said there is a stark contrast between what Democrats such as Hochul and James stand for and what Republicans would do if they make gains on Election Day.
“It is a choice between very different ideas about who we are as a state and country, how we should work together or not, what kind of future we want for ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren,” Clinton said, noting that Rep. Lee Zeldin, Hochul’s Republican rival, wants to block access to abortion and has opposed legislation that protects women’s rights to equal pay.
