5 key takeaways from the Harris, Walz rally in Las Vegas

Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz made their Nevada debut as the likely 2024 Democratic presidential ticket in Las Vegas on Saturday at what was one of the largest Democratic rallies in the state, representing a surge of momentum since the ticket changed in July.

In what marked the end of a battleground state tour, Harris, Walz and Nevada Democrats energized the crowd of at least 12,000 at UNLV’s Thomas &Mack Center in an effort to turn that momentum into real votes in November.

Here are five takeaways from the rally in Nevada, a swing state whose six electoral votes could determine the fate of the presidency.

1 Harris made Trump’s no tax on tips proposal her own, but with an increase in the federal minimum wage.

Harris expressed support for a plan first introduced by former President Donald Trump when he visited Las Vegas in June and has made the proposal a big part of his presidential campaign.

Since Trump pledged to ban federal taxes on tips and Republican members of Congress introduced bills to make his pledge happen, leaders on both sides of the aisle in Nevada, which relies heavily on its tip-earning workers, endorsed the proposal.

On Saturday, Harris also pledged to raise the minimum wage for workers, which some experts say could give workers a longer-lasting impact than simply not having to pay taxed on tips and could benefit low wage workers who do not receive tips.

The presence of the Culinary Local 226, a longtime political powerhouse that represents many of Nevada’s hospitality workers, was felt heavily in the arena Saturday, with both Walz and Harris giving the union a shout out and the crowd chanting “226.”

2 Harris pushed back against Republican criticism over immigration.

In an effort to push against Republican attacks over the border, Harris reiterated a firmer stance on immigration that she first outlined during a rally Friday in Phoenix.

One of the biggest criticisms the vice president has received has been over immigration. The issue haunted Biden before he had dropped from the race, and just a couple of months ago he issued executive orders to tighten security on the border — a move that reduced numbers of interactions between border officials and undocumented migrants but was met with criticism from Republicans as merely an effort to pander for votes.

When Harris took over as the head of the Democratic ticket, it remained to be seen how her campaign would handle the topic.

During the Las Vegas rally, Harris and her supporters highlighted her experience as attorney general of California, saying she prosecuted transnational gangs, drug cartels and human traffickers who entered the country illegally and “won” her cases.

“We know that our immigration system is broken, and we know what it takes to fix it,” Harris said. She advocated for comprehensive reform that includes stronger security and a pathway to citizenship.

Harris promised to fight for strong border security and criticized Trump and Republicans for blocking a bipartisan border package this year. She promised to sign a similar bill if she became president.

Her discussions on immigration seem to signal a major shift in her stance since taking the top of the Democratic ticket. In 2015, she said undocumented immigrants are not criminals, but her position now is that unauthorized border crossings are illegal.

3 Harris and Walz stress humble beginnings, promise of America.

Walz and Harris appeared before Nevada supporters for the first time since heading the Democratic ticket. In that time, Walz and supporters highlighted his humble beginnings as a social studies teacher and football coach, and his ability to study in college through the G.I. Bill.

Harris spoke of the “promise of America” that allows for people like her (who if elected would be the first woman, Black woman and person of South Asian descent to be president) and Walz to be seeking the White House.

She described her and Walz as “two middle-class kids.” She said she is a daughter of Oakland, California, who had a summer job at McDonald’s, and Walz is a son of the Nebraskan plains and grew up working on a farm.

“Think about it,” she said. “Only in America is it possible that the two of them would be running together all the way to the White House.”

4 Protesters remained outside.

Pro-Palestinian protesters calling for a cease fire in the Israeli war in Gaza have interrupted Harris a couple of times this tour, including Friday in Arizona.

In Las Vegas, a gathering of a couple dozen of them remained outside the arena, in an apparent designated free-speech area.

“Kamala Harris, you can’t hide,” they shouted to a percussion beat, “you’re committing genocide.”

They hoisted signs with the message: “Free Palestine” and “End All U.S. Aid to Israel!”

There were no interruptions of her speech inside the arena by protesters, though Harris did quickly shush some audience members who started to chant “lock him up” when she mentioned Trump’s felony convictions.

“Whoa, wait a minute!” she told them. “The courts are going to take care of that. We’re just going to beat him in November.”

5 The Democratic base is fired up.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal spoke to several attendees who expressed increased enthusiasm for the prospect of a Harris-Walz White House compared with how they felt about President Joe Biden’s candidacy for re-election.

Eric Bianchi said he specifically traveled from Sacramento, California, for the rally.

“Her coming into it just changed the game,” he said. “I mean, I would’ve voted for Joe either away, but I wouldn’t have flown here for that.”

David Hagland said that Harris makes him comfortable to vote for the ticket.

“We’ve finally got a candidate that isn’t just the lesser evil candidate,” he said.

Abbie Johnson, 23, said she’s sensed the election momentum shift since Biden exited the race.

“It feels so nice, this type of environment, this would not happen for any other candidate,” she said. “I think that this is a very special thing that we’re witnessing and it’s nice to be part of it.”

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X. Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow @rickytwrites on X.