Back on July 5, Christina Sinicki was standing on the risers right behind President Biden for a rally that was also a rescue mission in Madison.
Biden was trying to fighthis way back from a debate performance that caused his party to question if he should still be at the top of the ticket. He walked off the stage to Tom Petty’s 1989 hit, ‘I Won’t Back Down.”
Sinicki says there was energy in the room. “But it was more of an energy like, ‘We have to do this. This was our hope – we have to do this,” the state representative remembered.
Fast forward to this week. Biden was out of the race, and Vice President Harris was in.
And Sinicki was in what she described as a mosh pit in the gymnasium at a high school just outside of Milwaukee. The campaign says there were 3,000 people there.
Harris walked in to Beyonce’s “Freedom,” and anthem with the line: “I’ma keep running ’cause a winner don’t quit on themselves.”
“I stood there in the crowd and I just looked around and I thought: I haven’t seen this since 2008. The energy level was off the charts,” Sinicki said. “I had a group of young women around me who had never been to one of these before. And as soon as the vice president came out they were just screaming. It’s as if she was a rock star.”
This tale of two rallies is a tangible sign of the vibe shift among Democrats, who have been on an emotional rollercoaster for the past few weeks: from grim determination as Biden fought to hang on to his push for a second term, to outright exuberance after he stepped aside and Harris launched her campaign.
The Milwaukee rally was the biggest crowd for Democrats this campaign cycle. In less than a week, the Harris campaign raised record-breaking sums and signed up more than 100,000 new volunteers
On Saturday, Harris will be in Pittsfield, Mass., for what the party says is the largest fundraiser in the Berkshires since Michelle Obama was there in 2012. The reception is expected to raise more than $1.4 million, a million more than the original goal.
Almost overnight, the vice president has eclipsed the president. Videos and memes of Harris are everywhere.
“We’ve all gone from doom scrolling to hope scrolling,” said Katie Paris, the founder of Red Wine and Blue – a group with about 500,000 members that organizes suburban women around reproductive freedom and pushing back on book bans, among other issues.
“That feels good. I know I shouldn’t be looking at TikTok before I go to bed at night anyway. But before it wasn’t very good for my mental health – and now I feel like I can kind of make an excuse for it,” she said. ”It’s like joy is back in town.”
This honeymoon phase will end, said Democratic strategist Guy Cecil, warning the election will be a close race, despite this newfound exuberance in his party.
But he takes solace in a change he’s seeing in public and private polling. Voters are saying they are excited to vote for Harris and not just against Trump. That’s new.
“Fear and anger and concern about Trump can definitely motivate people. But having hope and optimism and some excitement about your candidate is a really important tool,” he said.
Because, he says, when the honeymoon is over it’s better to have someone you love at your side, for the inevitable hard times.
Transcript:
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Democrats have been on an emotional roller coaster over the past few weeks, from grim determination as President Biden clung to his run for a second term to outright exuberance after he stepped aside and Vice President Harris launched her campaign. NPR senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith reports that, with Harris at the top of the ticket, there’s a whole new vibe.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Back on July 5, Wisconsin State Representative Christine Sinicki was on the risers right behind President Biden for a rally that was also a rescue mission in Madison.
CHRISTINE SINICKI: So looking out at the crowd, I thought it was huge.
KEITH: There were a thousand people there, and Biden brought every ounce of fight he could muster.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: We had a little debate last week – can’t say it was my best performance.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: We love you, Joe.
KEITH: He said he knew there were questions about whether he would drop out.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BIDEN: Well, here’s my answer. I am running and going to win again.
(CHEERING)
KEITH: Sinicki says there was energy in the room.
SINICKI: But it was more of an energy of, like, OK, we have to do this. You know, this is our hope. We have to do this.
KEITH: Biden walked off the stage to a 1989 Tom Petty hit that met the mood.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “I WON’T BACK DOWN”)
TOM PETTY: (Singing) Well, I won’t back down. No, I won’t back down.
KEITH: Fast-forward two weeks to this past Tuesday – Sinicki was in the gymnasium at a high school just outside of Milwaukee, and Harris walked in to Beyonce’s “Freedom.”
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “FREEDOM”)
BEYONCE: (Singing) I’m going to keep running ’cause a winner don’t quit on themselves.
KEITH: There were more than 3,000 people packed in – the biggest crowd for Democrats this campaign cycle. The vice president had eclipsed the president essentially overnight. Sinicki was in a section she calls the mosh pit.
SINICKI: I stood there in the crowd, and I just looked around, and I went, I haven’t seen this since 2008. It was – the energy level was off the charts.
KEITH: The crowd was younger and more diverse, and they were experiencing a new emotion – joy.
SINICKI: I mean, I had a group of young women around me who had never been to one of these before. And as soon as the vice president came out, I mean, they were just screaming. It was like she was a rock star.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) Kamala, Kamala, Kamala, Kamala, Kamala.
KEITH: She made clear she was ready to take the fight to Trump.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: And in this campaign, I promise you I will proudly put my record against his any day of the week.
KEITH: In less than a week, the Harris campaign raised record-breaking sums and signed up more than a hundred thousand new volunteers. All of a sudden, videos and memes of Harris were everywhere. Katie Paris is the founder of the group Red Wine and Blue.
KATIE PARIS: It’s like joy is back in town.
KEITH: Her group organizes suburban women around reproductive freedom and pushing back on book bans, among other things. And Paris says the tone of her social media feed has transformed.
PARIS: We’ve all gone from doomscrolling to hopescrolling (ph). That feels good. I know I shouldn’t be looking at TikTok before I go to bed at night anyway. But before, it wasn’t very good for my mental health, and now I feel like I can kind of make an excuse for it.
KEITH: Democratic strategist Guy Cecil says even with all this newfound Democratic exuberance, this is going to be a close race. This honeymoon phase will end. But he takes solace in one trend he’s seeing in public and private polling. Voters are saying they’re excited to vote for Harris and not just against Trump. That’s new.
GUY CECIL: It’s an important shift because I think when you’re trying to get people motivated, yes, fear and anger and concern about Trump could definitely motivate people. But having hope and optimism and some excitement about your candidate is really – it’s a really important tool.
KEITH: Because, he says, when the honeymoon is over, it’s better to have someone you love at your side for the inevitable hard times.
Tamara Keith, NPR News.
