Oprah Brings Star Power to Mobilize Swing-State Harris Voters

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Bloomberg

September 19, 2024 at 6:00 AM EDT


Oprah Winfrey used her influence and popularity for decades to send fans into a frenzy, showering them with surprise gifts and turning them onto favored products and causes. Now Democrats hope she does the same for Kamala Harris.

The billionaire media icon will join the Democratic presidential candidate in a live-streamed town hall in Michigan on Thursday, an effort to get out the vote as some states begin distributing absentee and early ballots this month and to potentially sway undecided voters with under 50 days until Election Day.

The event teams a trailblazing entrepreneur with a candidate seeking to become the first Black woman US president in what polls show is a tight race against Republican Donald Trump. The event in Michigan, one of three Blue Wall states critical to a Harris victory, will be in the Detroit metro area, where the campaign aims to maximize turnout to drive up statewide totals and counter Trump’s support in rural areas.

“It’s not preaching to the choir, it’s getting the choir to sing,” said Aimee Allison, founder of She the People, which works to mobilize women of color. “They’re turning up the volume on the urgency of the base to expand and deepen the capacity to win.”

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-19/oprah-brings-star-power-to-mobilize-swing-state-harris-voters

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No paywall (gift)

[Clouds Passing]

1. It's about time Oprah.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. She did speak at the DNC

[Clouds Passing]

8. That's right she did

[BumRushDaShow]

9. And I watched all of the speeches and performances

from ~6:30 pm ET through to and past midnight for those 4 nights and was running on vapors for a week after!

[Clouds Passing]

10. I watched most of the speeches from 5pm. I did listen to Oprah

She was good. Also, she stated she was an independent, so maybe that’s where I got confusion about the endorsement.

[BumRushDaShow]

12. She's a billionaire so...

I.e., that class of people have the benefit of being able to mostly live "outside of politics", although racism exists within that world as well.

[Clouds Passing]

13. Misogyny definitely exists in that good ole boy club.

[BumRushDaShow]

14. She gets the double whammy though

from "the club" and from just "regular" people - https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-23626340

[Clouds Passing]

15. That is sad. Oprah has done much to elevate the consciousness of people.

We all have more work to do to end the hate, starting with our own biases.

[Upthevibe]

3. Kick. N/T

[FakeNoose]

4. Oprah is a wonderful influencer among Black women voters

... so this is awesome news.

On the other hand, doesn't Kamala already have the Black women votes, even without Oprah's endorsement?

[BumRushDaShow]

5. And white women

who watched her the most when she still had her talk show!

[kimbutgar]

6. She showed up on the Jimmy Kimmel show Tuesday night and showed up on stage showing a 19 year

Old woman how to register to vote in the upcoming election and gave the link where to register and she had an iPad that the young woman used to sign up!

[BumRushDaShow]

7. Excellent, and especially when she did this scene in the movie "Selma", which is very much on point

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

11. Maybe she can atone for cursing us with Oz and Phil