Harris joins a Black church in Georgia for an early voting campaign focused on mobilizing souls to cast their votes.
The early voting push is happening as Harris endeavors to invigorate Black voters, who are a significant portion of the Democratic base. Her opposition, ex-President Donald Trump, has set his sights on these voters, aiming to diminish Harris' gains, particularly with Black men.
"Our nation is at a juncture, and the path we choose is in our hands as Americans and individuals of faith," Harris declared at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia.
"We confront this query: What sort of country do we desire to inhabit?" she asked. "A nation of turmoil, fear, and hate, or a nation of freedom, compassion, and justice?"
Black churches have played a pivotal role in galvanizing Black voters since the Civil Rights era – and Democratic campaigns have consistently sought to connect with these voters, especially in early voting states like Georgia, where the polls were operational on Sunday afternoon.
Although Harris leads Trump among Black voters, she has struggled to reach President Joe Biden's polling numbers with the demographic from the 2020 election. In the past few weeks, her campaign has undertaken targeted media interviews and proposed initiatives geared towards Black men, in a bid to bolster her support. The vice president's campaign's "souls to the polls" initiative, launched earlier this month with a panel of Black faith leaders from across the U.S., also saw Harris' running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, attend service at Victorious Believers Ministries in Saginaw, Michigan.
On Sunday, the congregation in Georgia sang "Happy Birthday" to Harris, who celebrated her 60th birthday that day. The service was graced by Opal Lee, known as the "Grandmother of Juneteenth" for her 98-year-old crusade to make the day honoring the end of slavery a federal holiday.
Harris donned a black suit with a pink blouse in honor of the church's "pink day," aimed at raising awareness of breast cancer, and she emphasized her mother's work as a breast cancer researcher.
Harris shared that she frequently attended Sunday school and sang in the choir growing up. She spoke of a "loving God who implores us to advocate for those who cannot speak for themselves, and to safeguard the rights of the impoverished and marginalized," she said.
"For me, and for countless others, church is then a place of growth, belonging, and community; a place where we are reminded of the formidable power of faith and fellowship. And in challenging moments and moments of doubt when the path is unclear, it is our faith that then guides us forward," Harris said.
Trump, on Sunday morning, talked on Fox News, stating that his central message in the final stretch leading up to Election Day on November 5 is centered on border security, inflation, and transgender athletes.
"We're in a state of decline right now," Trump said. "We're struggling at the borders. We're struggling with inflation and the economy. We're struggling with all this woke ideology, like men participating in women's sports and transgender procedures and all of these things that are detrimental to our country and we just cannot allow it to continue."
At a rally the previous night, however, his closing argument devolved into profane insults and an explicit story concerning the late golfer Arnold Palmer.
His vice presidential candidate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, visited Kroll's West sports bar in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Sunday prior to a Packers game.
"Go Pack, go Trump," Vance declared after taking a sip of beer.
CNN's Aaron Pellish, Veronica Stracqualursi, and Kit Maher contributed to this report.
In the context of the ongoing political landscape, Harris' campaign is focusing on targeted media interviews and proposing initiatives specifically for Black men, aiming to strengthen her support within this demographic.
The political scene in the United States is seeing a focus on key issues, with Harris emphasizing her commitment to fighting for the rights of the impoverished and marginalized, as she saw church as a place of growth, belonging, and community during her formative years.
