By Trevor Hunnicutt
HOUSTON (Reuters) -Democrat Kamala Harris is hoping the “BeyHive” will help propel her to victory in the 2024 presidential election.
The celebrity singer Beyonce headlines a Houston rally for Vice President Harris on Friday, an event Harris’ campaign hopes will help excite voters and propel them to the polls as she faces a tight race with Republican former President Donald Trump.
Here’s what we know about the event.
WHERE IS THE EVENT?
It takes place at 21,000-seat Shell Energy Stadium, which normally hosts Houston’s Major League Soccer team.
WHAT TIME DOES IT START?
The event is “first come, first served.” Doors open at 3 p.m. Central Daylight Time, and organizers advise not to arrive later than 7 p.m. Harris was set to speak at 8:30 p.m. (0130 Saturday GMT), according to her official schedule.
HOW DO PEOPLE GET TICKETS?
In order to attend the rally, people register on a Democratic Party website and are then led to a page offering free tickets and showing details.
Big crowds are likely. An incorrect rumor that Beyonce would attend led people clad in Beyonce attire to cram into the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August, which was then closed to further guests.
WHY IS HARRIS CAMPAIGNING WITH BEYONCE?
Beyonce, whose Instagram account has 314 million followers, offers Harris access to a segment of the U.S. population, especially Black and younger voters that the Democrat believes she needs to turn out in force to win a closely contested race against Trump.
Harris has made Beyonce’s song “Freedom,” which has a theme of personal emancipation, her campaign anthem.
WHY TEXAS?
The rally is in Beyonce’s hometown of Houston, and Harris is using the conservative state to highlight abortion rights, a major theme of her campaign.
Texas has a near-total abortion ban in place, which is legal after a Supreme Court reshaped by Trump eliminated Roe v. Wade abortion rights.
Texas implemented a first-of-its kind law in 2021 that banned abortion after six weeks and allowed anyone to sue abortion patients in violation and those who assisted them.
The U.S. Supreme Court, with a conservative majority formed by Trump’s judicial appointments, allowed the law to stand, and then gutted federal abortion rights by overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Harris will speak about the danger to abortion rights if Trump is elected, a campaign source said, and be joined by women who have suffered after Texas’ anti-abortion regulations were passed and their family members.
Texas Democratic Senate candidate Colin Allred is also expected to attend Harris’ rally, as Democrats seek to give him a boost in his bid to unseat Republican Senator Ted Cruz.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Heather Timmons and Alistair Bell)
