WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� 鈥淓lectric.鈥� 鈥淛oyful.鈥�
The kinetic energy powering 鈥� whirlwind presidential campaign carries the hopeful aspirations of history and the almost quaint idea of electing the first woman to . But inside it, too, is the urgent and determined refusal of many Democratic female voters to accept the alternative 鈥� again.
鈥淪erious.鈥� 鈥淯napologetic.鈥�
Listen to the women cheering 鈥淲e鈥檙e not going back!鈥� at the Harris campaign rallies. See them singing along during the dance party roll call at the in Chicago. Understand the mothers and daughters and sorority sisters and, yes, the men, brothers and boys who have watched and waited and winced as the country tried eight years ago to break the glass ceiling 鈥� and failed.
鈥淥惫别谤诲耻别.鈥�
This time, this year, facing again, a certain and influential swath of the electorate is not messing around. 鈥淚t鈥檚 our time,鈥� said Denise Delegol, 60, a retired postal worker from West Bloomfield Township, Michigan.
Harris campaign reignites Democratic party鈥檚 enthusiasm
The promise of a Harris presidency is shaking a sizable segment of the nation out of a political funk, reviving the idea of a milestone election and an alternative to repeating the Trump era. It's putting the country on the cusp of what Michelle Obama, in her to Democrats, called a 鈥渂righter day.鈥�
Once President bowed out of the race and embraced his vice president at the top of the ticket, some found hope where before they had felt mostly dread.
鈥淥vernight it went from doom-scrolling to hope-scrolling,鈥� said Lisa Hansen of Wisconsin, who led an early Trump resistance group in 2017 as her first foray into political activism.
Lori Goldman of Michigan, who founded to elect two presidents ago, said, 鈥淚鈥檓 too old to not ever have seen a president that鈥檚 female in the United States.鈥� She's 65.
And Shannon Nash, a California attorney, co-founder of the Tech4Kamala group and, like Harris, a fellow member of the historic Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., said from the convention hall Thursday night, 鈥淭he joy is coming back to politics.鈥�
Women have been here before, in 2016, when they donned matching pantsuits, poured champagne and settled in on election night, some with friends and daughters by their side, expecting Clinton to win the White House only to be shaken by Trump鈥檚 victory.
As one woman said at the time, she the next morning.
Republican women eye history, too
To be sure, some voters had a different first female president in mind. lifted Republican hopes during the GOP primary, but her moment faded after rival Trump branded his former ambassador to the United Nations 鈥渂irdbrain.鈥�
Lisa Watts, a retired business owner from Hickory, North Carolina, who was attending her fifth Trump rally this week, had little interest in Harris. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that her record proves that she is ready to run this country,鈥� Watts said.
The thousands of women who pack Trump rallies, and tens of millions more who are expected to cast ballots for him in November, are participating on the other side of the potential history-making.
The former president, convicted in a hush-money case and still facing a pending for conspiring to overturn the 2020 election ahead of the , would become the first felon to win the White House.
Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump rejected as 鈥渋nsulting鈥� the idea that Americans should vote for a woman for president because it would make history.
鈥淚f you ever give me a job because ... of the fact that I鈥檓 a woman and not based on any merit or qualification, guess what? I鈥檓 turning that job down all day long," the former president's daughter-in-law said on her podcast in July.
Abortion, immigration and the war in Gaza
For those voting for Harris, this election feels more joyful, but also more necessary and urgent.
鈥淲e need to do this, be serious about it this time,鈥� said Monique LaFonta, a mother of two twin girls, after attending a Harris rally in Milwaukee.
Trump鈥檚 creation of a conservative Supreme Court majority that produced outrage among many women who powered that year's midterm election 鈥� and are a potentially influential force in this one.
鈥淲e are living in just such a wildly different situation,鈥� said Jessica Mackler, the president of Emily鈥檚 List, which works to elect pro-choice women. She said Harris is 鈥渦napologetic鈥� when it comes to reproductive rights.
Harris herself carries this potentially history-making moment not as a campaign feature but a matter-of-fact representation of who she is and has always been, much the way Barack Obama often left his race merely implied to voters. Rather than reminding voters that the nation's 47th president could become the first in its more than two-century history to not be a man, Harris is running instead on what she would do in the job and how she would do it.
In her speech Thursday night accepting the nomination at the Democratic National Convention, Harris acknowledged that she's "no stranger to unlikely journeys,鈥� but she did not specifically mention the historic nature of her candidacy.
Many receive her style as a brand of American optimism rooted in the generations who came before her, a Black and 麻豆传媒AV Asian woman, the daughter of immigrants 鈥� a Jamaican father and Indian mother 鈥� who dared to dream in this country. She is blaring Beyonce鈥檚 鈥淔reedom鈥� as her campaign theme song along the way.
And yet among demonstrators calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war outside the Democrats' convention in Chicago, pharmacist Fedaa Ballouta said that while having the first female president would mean a lot, she expects more. 鈥淚 wish that that woman was pro-life when it matters regarding Palestinians.鈥�
Clinton鈥檚 defeat paved the way for this moment
So much has changed in the American political landscape since Trump entered that scene almost a decade ago with his braggadocio and electoral momentum.
鈥淪uch a nasty woman,鈥� he called his 2016 Democratic rival Clinton, a former U.S. senator and secretary of state. 鈥淗orseface,鈥� he labeled a Republican primary rival, a woman. 鈥淔at pig,鈥� he bullied a famous female comedian. He once bragged that as a celebrity he could 鈥済rab鈥� women by their private parts 鈥� and get away with it.
More than in the United States and around the world filled city streets in protest the day after Trump鈥檚 2017 inauguration. Many wore pink 鈥減ussy鈥� hats. 鈥淭he Resistance,鈥� they called it.
Trump himself has stayed the course, deriding Harris as 鈥淟affin鈥� Kamala,鈥� mocking her laugh or mispronouncing her name, which means 鈥渓otus flower鈥� in Sanskrit.
In many ways, Clinton鈥檚 defeat eight years ago set the stage for this moment. It was a crushing setback that dashed women鈥檚 hopes for bringing the U.S. into alignment with leading democracies around the world that have had a female in charge.
Angie Gialloreto of Pittsburgh was disappointed then. But the 95-year-old, attending her 13th presidential convention, is still at it, ready and waiting for the country to try again. 鈥淚t's time,鈥� she said.
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Many of the women interviewed by The Associated Press this week are eager for what's next. Listen to what they have to say.
MONIQUE LAFONTA, 41, Milwaukee, health care consultant and mother of twin daughters:
鈥淲hy can鈥檛 a woman be president? Why has it taken us so long to get to this point?鈥� LaFonta wondered the day after a Harris rally in Milwaukee. 鈥淎re we going to make the same mistake again?鈥� LaFonta remembers celebrating election night 2016 at a birthday party with friends when Clinton lost to Trump. 鈥淚t was unintentionally the worst birthday party I ever went to 鈥� everyone was crying at the end of the night,鈥� she said. As a mother now, she said what鈥檚 happened with the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the threats posed by the Project 2025 agenda are 鈥渟cary.鈥� 鈥淚 have two 6-year-old daughters who have less rights than I did,鈥� she said.
Originally from Louisiana, she recalls her parents living through the Jim Crow era in the 麻豆传媒AV. 鈥淚 never even thought we would see a Black president in my lifetime,鈥� she said. 鈥淭o have another glass ceiling like that in my lifetime, it鈥檚 really so special.鈥� At the Harris rally in Milwaukee this week, it was 鈥渟o electric, so contagious,鈥� she said. 鈥淛ust joy.鈥�
ASHBEY BEASLEY, 48, Highland Park, Illinois, stay-home mother
鈥淲e鈥檙e overdue,鈥� Beasley said. She remembers watching one state after another fall to Trump on election night eight years ago. 鈥淚 just started crying,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e turned the TV off.鈥� The difference between then and now? 鈥淲e鈥檝e had a Trump presidency. We鈥檝e seen the kind of chaos." The Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol was a 鈥渢urning point鈥� she said. 鈥淭he MAGA culture came out of the closet,鈥� and a lot of people 鈥渨ere like, I鈥檓 not OK with this.鈥�
Having survived a 2022 mass shooting in her city with her son, she has become a gun safety advocate and worries Trump is too close to gun rights groups. 鈥淲hat I want people to know whatever you see out in the world 鈥� whatever horrific terrible tragedy 鈥� that can be you,鈥� she said from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. 鈥淛ust because you don鈥檛 need an abortion right now, doesn鈥檛 mean you won鈥檛.鈥�
LORI GOLDMAN, Michigan, founded in 2016 to elect Hillary Clinton
At 65, she said, 鈥淚鈥檓 too old to not ever have seen a president that鈥檚 female in the United States.鈥� On Election Day 2016, Goldman had about 30 people to her house and they canvassed until the afternoon, all the while thinking it unnecessary. She said she鈥檚 less na茂ve now.
For Goldman and chair of Fems for Dems Marcie Paul, the difference between organizing in 2016 and now is knowing the impacts of a Trump administration. Both are mothers, and they cited their daughters鈥� futures as a reason to vote Harris, both for her policy on reproductive rights and for her potential to be the first female president. Paul said it鈥檚 the most important election of a lifetime. 鈥淏ut really 鈥� this time it is.鈥�
ANNE HATHAWAY, Indiana, the state's Republican National Committeewoman
She dismissed the potential history-making milestone as been there, done that. 鈥淲e had Hillary Clinton as a candidate in 2016 so this is not a new phenomenon,鈥� said Hathaway, who was in charge of the arrangements committee at the Republican convention. She said she is focused on the candidates鈥� visions, not their genders. 鈥淭his is a race between two presidential candidates who have very different opinions and views and where they think this country should go.鈥�
HOLLY SARGENT, York, Maine
She had spent the months leading up to the 2016 presidential election campaigning for Hillary Clinton in her quiet Maine beach town, watching the rise of Trump 鈥渨ith horror.鈥� But she said the despair she felt at that year鈥檚 election defeat was healed with Clinton鈥檚 speech to the Democratic convention this week. Sargent teared up as she sat with Maine delegates thinking of all that has transpired, and could yet. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to do it this time. And when we do it, we do it for Hillary and for Shirley Chisholm and for Geraldine Ferraro and for all of the extraordinary women who have gone before.鈥�
JENNIFER RICHARDSON, 44, Albany, New York, attorney
She said as a Black woman, and an attorney, having Harris atop the party鈥檚 ticket resonates so much. 鈥淚 see myself in her,鈥� she said from the Democratic convention. 鈥淚 see all my friends in her.鈥� Added Richardson, 鈥淔or her to win, it鈥檚 like we all won.鈥�
DENISE DELEGOL, 60, West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, retired postal worker
Delegol was decked out in pearls, a purple Harris 鈥淲hen We Fight We Win鈥� T-shirt and purple high-tops decorated with the word 鈥淲IN鈥� on the toes, and curious to check out the protests at a park near the convention hall. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a beautiful thing that she can lead a country that was predominantly led by old white men who think they know what鈥檚 best for all, all people, including women and our bodies,鈥� she said. Harris, she said, 鈥渋s going to change all that.鈥�
She wants her fellow Americans to understand how important the election is, and that 鈥渢his is just a time for all Americans to come together because we have more in common than not in common.鈥� Her conversations with family and friends are all about what鈥檚 happening. 鈥淣ow it鈥檚 our time,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd I don鈥檛 think nothing can stop us now, as far as women breaking the glass ceiling.鈥�
FEDAA BALLOUTA, Chicago pharmacist, attending a demonstration against the Israel-Hamas war outside the Democratic convention
She said it means a lot to have a female nominee for president, and as a pharmacist who finds it heartbreaking to see people struggle to afford medication she is eager for what Harris could do to help lower the costs of prescription drugs. 鈥淚 really want to support our candidate of the same gender category,鈥� she said. But what she really wants to see from Harris is a cease-fire in the war. 鈥淧ro-Life doesn鈥檛 just refer to abortion and pregnancy,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hat about the killing of innocent civilians? That鈥檚 also pro-life.鈥�
She believes this election will be meaningful for the country. 鈥淚 was just in New York City, and I鈥檓 looking at the Statue of Liberty, and I鈥檓 thinking, 鈥楢re we a nation that provides liberty or takes it away from others?鈥欌��
LIZ SHULER, president, AFL-CIO union
Schuler recalls breaking out the champagne and popcorn with friends on election night 2016, before 鈥減eople left, of course, heartbroken.鈥� This time around, she said, 鈥渨e are protecting our hearts.鈥�
鈥淚 think every woman you talked to probably feels the same way. But I think we, as union women, pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and just keep up the fight.鈥�
ANGIE GIALLORETO, 95, Pittsburgh, attending her 13th presidential nominating convention
Gialloreto said she was disappointed by Clinton鈥檚 loss eight years ago, but she鈥檚 excited with Harris in place to try again. 鈥淚t鈥檚 time,鈥� she said from the convention hall. Gialloreto has attended every Democratic convention since Jimmy Carter was nominated for president in 1976. She said it鈥檚 an exciting time, 鈥渘ot for me, I鈥檝e lived my life 鈥� for the short time I have, I鈥檓 going to celebrate 鈥� but it鈥檚 the young ones.
鈥淩eality is here.鈥�
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Associated Press writers Isabella Volmert in Michigan, Mike Householder and Farnoush Amiri in Chicago, Michelle Price in North Carolina, Ali Swenson and Aaron Morrison in New York, video journalists Martha Irvine, Serkan Gurbuz and Teresa Crawford in Chicago and photojournalist Jacquelyn Martin in Milwaukee and Chicago contributed to this report.
Lisa Mascaro, The Associated Press
