By james art LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — On the first day of early voting in the Valley, former President Barack Obama led the Nevada battle cry.
The former president rallied hundreds of supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris at Cheyenne High School in North Las Vegas on Saturday night.
“I really want to see Obama. I really want to be where we want our people to be,” said Renee Granby, who traveled all the way from Sacramento, Calif., to attend the rally.
“Just be here and show my support,” said Tyesha Thomas, who is from Las Vegas.
Before the rally, Channel 13 spoke with several voters about the issues that are important to them.
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“Increasing rents for people and health care because i am healthcare,” Granby said.
“Empowerment for women,” Thomas said. “The right to choose, the right to make choices over my own body.”
“Gun control, cannabis and the economy,” said Love, who is visiting from California.
“I think I have my rights as a woman. I have less rights now than my mother did when she was my age. And that’s scary,” said first-time voter Shelby Shaffer.
Shaffer said she recently celebrated her 18th birthday and is excited to run in her first election.
“I think it’s very important to vote, especially now. If we keep going the way we’re going, it could go down a darker path, and I don’t think we should go there,” Shafer said.
Several prominent Nevada politicians like Sen. Jackie Rosen and Reps. Susie Lee, Stephen Horsford and Deanna Titus spoke before the former president and encouraged people to get out and vote, but also took time to mock former President Donald Trump.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Donald Trump is a 78-year-old billionaire who hasn’t stopped has been whining about his problems since he went down the golden escalator nine years ago,” Barack Obama said.
During the roughly 40 minutes that Obama spoke, he discussed several key issues for many voters, such as the economy, abortion and immigration.
“For many people, the cost of health care, housing and groceries is still too high — it hurts,” Obama said.
“I have conversations with people, they’re all like, ‘I don’t know, you know, I know Trump’s a little crazy, but I remember the economy when he first came into office, I remember the first two years were pretty good.’ Yes, it was good because that was my economy.”
During his speech, he said Harris was ready to take over the presidency.
“Kamala Harris doesn’t have concepts of a plan, she has an actual plan to make your life better. She has a plan to lower the prices of things like groceries. She will go after price-gouging corporations, just as she went after big banks and for-profit colleges when she was California’s attorney general, Kamala will cut red tape and work with state and local governments, as well as the private sector, to build three million new homes. She has a concrete plan to do that and then she will give first-time buyers up to $25,000 to help with the down payment,” Obama said.
While some voters Channel 13 spoke with said they knew how they would vote, there were others who said having a high-profile voice like the former president could reassure those on edge.
“He has a huge impact on people,” Schafer said. “I think he’s just an amazing speaker. I think he really draws people in.”
Meanwhile, former President Trump held his own rally in the battleground state of Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Trump will host another rally here in the Valley at the Thomas & Mack Center on October 24.