Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the American Federation of Teachers’ 88th National Convention on July 25, 2024 in Houston, Texas. . (Photo by Montinique Monroe/Getty Images)
Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign is hosting a get-out-the-vote concert in Pittsburgh on Friday that will feature musicians Jason Isbell and Michael Stipe, two performers who have been reliable supporters of Democratic and progressive candidates and who have both supported Harris’ campaign for president.
Isbell performed on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention in August and has been a vocal supporter of Harris and other Democrats; he organized an album of cover songs by Georgia artists to celebrate President Joe Biden winning the Peach State in 2020. Stipe, who was lead singer for R.E.M., also has performed at campaign events in support of Harris, and stumped for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders during the Vermont independent’s 2016 presidential campaign. Both performers have their roots in the southern U.S.: Isbell is from Alabama and Stipe hails from the swing state of Georgia.
The Harris campaign has spent considerable time in western Pennsylvania since she ascended to the top of the Democratic ticket, even visiting more conservative areas like Johnstown.
The concert comes a day before former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee for president, also visits western Pennsylvania. Trump will hold a rally on Saturday in Butler, at the site where he survived an assassination attempt in July, where rallygoer Corey Comperatore was killed and two others were wounded.
Trump’s running mate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), visited western Pennsylvania on Saturday, appearing at a Christian evangelical conference. Harris was in Pittsburgh last week touting her economic policy, and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, will appear at a rally in York on Wednesday with U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.).
Pennsylvania counties have started sending out mail-in ballots to voters even as several lawsuits over the ballots and how they’ll be counted continue to work their way through the courts. The Keystone State’s 19 electoral votes and its swings from Democrat to Republican back to Democrat in the past several presidential elections make it a crucial state that both parties view as winnable.