We will win this election, Harris tells Democrats

Kamala Harris took on Donald Trump last night at her first campaign rally since replacing Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate, telling a roaring Wisconsin crowd that November's election is "a choice between freedom and chaos".

- Richard Luscombe

The US vice-president carried the energy and momentum from her whirlwind ascent to presumptive presidential nominee into a lively first campaign rally, telling the crowd: "In this campaign, I promise you I will proudly put my record against his any day of the week.

"Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hate?" she asked. During the address to several thousand people at West Allis Central high school in a Milwaukee suburb in Wisconsin, she touched on key issues of reproductive rights, gun control and affordable healthcare.

"We believe in the sacred freedom to vote," she said. "We believe that every person in our nation should have the freedom to live safe from the terror of gun violence," she added.

"And we trust women to make decisions about their own bodies." In contrast, she pained Trump as someone found guilty of fraud, liable for sexual abuse and who conjures "chaos, fear and hate." Harris praised Biden and predicted: "We will win this election".

The Harris for President campaign said it had raised more than $100m in the day after Biden's withdrawal, largely from first-time donors. Harris hailed it as "the best 24 hours of grassroots fundraising in presidential campaign history".

Before her address, Harris won key backing from the Democratic party's senior congressional leadership, with backing from Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, and House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries.

Harris, they said, had re-energized Democrats since Joe Biden's announcement that he would no longer seek a second term.