HOUSTON — Beyoncé took the stage in her Texas hometown Friday night with Vice President Kamala Harris, rallying against what both described as an existential threat to women’s rights in America.
“I’m not here as a celebrity. I’m not here as a politician,” the singer said at the event, which drew 30,000 attendees, according to Harris’ presidential campaign.
“I’m here as a mother, a mother who cares deeply about the world my children and all of our children live in, a world where we have the freedom to control our bodies, a world where we’re not divided.”
Abortion rights were the topic of the night at Harris’ rally, which packed a stadium following reports that Beyoncé might perform. The superstar didn’t sing, but she and Harris stood united on the issue of reproductive rights.
Jordan Fick, a 22-year-old graduate student originally from Louisiana, told HuffPost that her main concern in this election cycle is abortion rights. She said she is still “growing up” and knows birth control isn’t 100% effective. If she were to get pregnant, all options would be scary for her. Abortion would mean traveling out of the state, while keeping the pregnancy would mean “risking” her life to give birth in Texas.
Fick attended Friday night’s rally with her friend Rachel Dubuque, a 24-year-old graduate student. The two met through their boyfriends, who weren’t in attendance but are supportive of Fick and Dubuque’s political interests.
“We like to brag that we don’t have to cancel out our boyfriends’ votes,” Fick said.
Harris’ stop in Houston, just days out from the presidential election, was a unique move, considering that candidates often spend their last few days on the campaign trail in swing states. Though Texas typically votes Republican for various offices, Houston has made headlines for choosing Democrats. And when Harris walked onstage Friday in a dark purple suit, it could have been a nod to some people’s belief that Texas is not, in fact, Republican-leaning red but swing-voting purple.
One person who thought so was Anushka Bhowal, a 28-year-old Harris supporter who traveled from Dallas for the Houston rally.
“I’ve been feeling good,” Bhowal said about the election. “I think the general sentiment is that Texas is not a red state. It’s purple, and I really have just been trying to urge people to go out and vote.”
She is hopeful that a majority of Texans will vote for Harris — but if not for Harris, then at least for Democratic Rep. Colin Allred, who is seeking to unseat Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.
“I do think there’s a chance,” Bhowal said.
“It helps that he’s up against Ted Cruz,” added Bhowal’s friend, Sergio, who declined to give his last name.
Bhowal said being a Democrat can feel isolating in Texas, but that tens of thousands of Harris supporters showing up in Houston gave her hope. Bhowal is also optimistic that Harris will be able to restore abortion rights or at least protect the ones that exist. Pregnant people’s mortality rate in Texas has increased in recent years, something that concerns Bhowal.
Being a woman in Texas is “terrifying,” she said. And though Bhowal isn’t planning on having a baby anytime soon, she has thought about what that would look like. She said she wouldn’t feel comfortable having a baby in Texas with its near-total abortion ban, and traveling outside of the state to give birth would mean she wouldn’t have her support system nearby.
“I can’t fathom having a pregnancy and have anything go wrong, and not have a choice to do anything about it and I could have my life at risk,” she said.
Erin Riddle attended Harris’ rally with Isabella, her 14-year-old daughter. Riddle said raising a young girl amid Texas’ abortion ban is “scary.” Riddle also noted that a distant acquaintance’s 14-year-old daughter had become pregnant, forcing Riddle to consider what she would do if her family experienced a similar situation.
“It’s not an option,” Riddle said. “But in Texas, what do you do?”
For some people, the possibility of another U.S. administration led by Republican Donald Trump looms over them. It’s such a threat, they say, that they’ve begun thinking about moving out of the country.
Riddle’s sister lives in Toronto, so moving to Canada is on her mind, Riddle said.
“If Trump got elected, we would probably move,” she said.
Moving is also on Steven Gilbert’s mind. The 63-year-old said women’s rights and democracy are critical issues for him in this election. But if Trump wins the White House, Gilbert said he would move somewhere on the “other side of the Atlantic.”
Some rallygoers waited in line for upward of three hours at Shell Energy Stadium, hoping to get a glimpse of the person they hope will be the next president of the United States. It also didn’t hurt that they could see celebrities like Jessica Alba, Kelly Rowland, Willie Nelson and of course, Beyoncé.
