‘An air of excitement’: Fans excited for Kamala Harris and Michelle Obama rally in Kalamazoo

KALAMAZOO, MI – On Saturday, October 26, Kamala Harris and Michelle Obama will land in Kalamazoo to rally their supporters in the final days before the election.

Harris and Obama plan to appear Saturday afternoon or evening. The exact time and location of the visit has not yet been announced.

“There’s an air of excitement,” Kalamazoo Vice Mayor Jeanne Hess said of the visit.

Hess, who helped invent and popularize the “Kamalazoo“The nickname that connects the candidate with the city hopes that Harris wins on Election Day, Tuesday, November 5.

“Let’s see if we can connect it to the White House,” Hess said.

The vice mayor likes several things about Harris as a candidate, including her willingness to work with people on the other side of the aisle. Harris has shared plans to have a Republican in her Cabinet, Hess said.

“He’s definitely brought a more bipartisan view of politics in this country, which would certainly be refreshing,” Hess said.

Hess hopes Harris and Obama feel the support of the Kalamazoo crowd on Saturday. Hess plans to attend herself.

“This is a must,” Hess said of the need for Harris to win.

People have requested tickets to the Harris campaign event, although it is unclear how many people will receive tickets to attend.

Longtime Republican Congressman Fred Upton, now retired, also supports Harris. He announced the endorsement on Wednesday, October 24 during a virtual press conference.

a lot has changed since Harris last visited Kalamazoo on July 17.

First, he was in town to defend Joe Biden; It was four days before Biden withdrew and endorsed Harris. His visit to Kalamazoo also came just four days after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania and after JD Vance was announced as Trump’s running mate.

“While our nation’s history has been marked by political violence, violence is never acceptable,” Harris said in Kalamazoo, in her first public remarks since the shooting. “There can be no doubt about that.”

That event, at the Kalamazoo Air Zoo, was not open to the public, only to invited fans.

Three months later, Harris returns to Kalamazoo for a public rally as a presidential candidate in a tight race.

Bringing ‘star power’ to Kalamazoo

Luke Howell, creator of an online support page for Kamala in Kalamazoo, said he believes Harris would return responsibility to the office of president. He and others are excited to attend the rally, Howell said.

“I’ve never felt so much emotion, it’s unbelievable,” Howell said. He shared a URL to register to attend the rally and said more than 500 people had registered through his link alone.

Howell spoke of the unique association between Kalamazoo and Kamala, due to their similar names, but believes the connection runs deeper than that.

He likes how Harris has brought some new ideas to the race.

“It gets a little bit more from the middle class, from the struggles that we face,” Howell said. “I don’t think you understand that with Trump.”

Michelle Zukowski-Serlin, 62, an organizer of the Kalamazoo Women’s March held earlier this month, said Harris’ energy and enthusiasm are at levels she last saw in Obama.

A lot of people are working hard, he said, noting the strong running game of the Harris campaign. Zukowski-Serlin, a Comstock Township trustee candidate, also hands out materials supporting Harris as president as she goes door-to-door, she said.

“She has the courage to tell people the truth,” Zukowski-Serlin said of Harris. She is competent and brilliant. She understands the law, Zukowski-Serlin said.

Her husband, Troy Zukowski-Serlin, 60, is the chairman of the Jewish Democrats of Western Michigan and a Harris supporter.

“She’s trying to thread a very difficult needle,” he said when asked about Harris’ view on the war in the Middle East involving Israel. Zukowski-Serlin said she wants to see the war end. He supports Israel, he said, but also hopes for a Palestinian state in the future.

It’s important for voters in places like Kalamazoo and Benton Harbor to go to the polls, he said, expecting a close race.

“It shows how important Kalamazoo is,” he said. “This is an opportunity for us to get really good numbers for the blue side in what is largely a sea of ​​red around us.”

Kalamazoo trended bluer in 2020, compared to 2016. Hillary Clinton beat Trump in the city by 72% to 22%, but Biden beat Trump in 2020 by a margin of 77% to 21%.

However, the Kalamazoo precinct remains red. Republican Bill Huizenga won District 4, which extends into Ottawa County, in 2022 over Democrat Joseph Alfonso, 54% to 43%.

Obama and Harris together will bring “real star power” to Kalamazoo, Troy Zukowski-Serlin said.

Resident April Lynn Jackson is among those excited to have Harris coming to town. She agrees with Harris’ policies because they do not deny her daughter and nieces their rights, including bodily autonomy and the right to be in the LGBTQ community without restrictions on where they can work or live, she said.

“The women of this nation woke up after the results of the 2016 presidential election,” Jackson said. “Since then, we’ve been networking across the country.”

Watching women empower each other has been “a really beautiful sight,” she said.

Harris came onto the scene at a time when many Americans are ready for change, Jackson said.

“We are tired of living in a broken nation,” Jackson said. “Vice President Harris broke a glass ceiling in the last election and I hope she breaks more in this election.”

Harris will be the only presidential candidate to host a campaign event in Kalamazoo in more than a decade. Mitt Romney came to Kalamazoo in 2012. Before that, John McCain appeared here in 2008 and George W. Bush made a campaign stop in 2004.

Trump, Harris and their surrogates have dotted Michigan’s I-96 and I-75 corridors, with many stops in southwest Michigan and the Grand Rapids area. But Saturday marks the first major visit to Kalamazoo County by either campaign this year, aside from Harris’ July 17 event.

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