Charisma runs in the family.
That was this writers observation at the Arizona Asian Americans for Harris/Walz Diwali Event in Scottsdale earlier this evening where Vice President Kamala Harris’s sister Maya rallied party guests to work hard these next eleven days to turn out members of their community and support the Democratic Presidential Ticket and other down-ballot races crucial to securing federal, state, and local legislative success in 2025.
Diwali, which starts next week, is the Indian holiday that celebrates the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.
At the event this evening, it was very obvious which candidate the guests thought epitomized the themes of Diwali and it was not Donald Trump.
Before Ms. Harris spoke, State Senator and Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (ADLCC) Co-Chairperson Priya Sundareshan made opening remarks to the guests, telling them that their community had the power to deliver the Grand Canyon State and the Presidency to the first Asian American Woman to run for that office as well as Dr. Amish Shah in his race for the House of Representatives against David Schweikert and other down ballot races.
In her comments, Senator Sundareshan conveyed:
“Arizona is just so important all the way down the ballot. So every single vote matters. Every single vote counts. Our margins are that close that everything that you do to turning out votes is going to matter. And that’s true further down ballot as well, where we are poised to flip the state legislature and get a Democratic Trifecta, so that we can finally address a lot of the state level issues…”
“…There are so many South Asian voters in particular that we need to reach who may not realize the opportunity that we have in this state. And really, it’s up to us. It’s our job to organize our community and make them see that we have the ability to really make history within our own community by making sure that they vote…“
Later, the Senator graciously responded to some follow up questions after the event.
On how the enthusiasm for the campaign has improved since Vice President Harris became the Presidential Nominee, Sundareshan said:
“It’s just been amazing and picked up and of course I think you can see with the South Asian Community how it has really lit a fire under them to get more engaged than they ever had before...This is much more enthusiasm than we’ve ever had.”
On how that enthusiasm can potentially translate into success for the down ballot races, the Senator replied:
“…We all hope that we are getting people motivated and excited because of our very exciting top of the ticket race and that that will translate all the way to the down ballot races. We also know that there’s so much work to do to on voter education, etc, to get that down ballot voting behavior to continue. So that’s why we are also focused on those down ballot races, to make sure that our candidates are knocking on all the doors every single day at the legislative level, because we know that just because people are excited about Kamala Harris doesn’t always mean that they know who their legislative candidates are.”
Maya Harris opened her remarks by thanking all the guests and everyone else in the Arizona Asian-American Community that have been working hard to elect her sister to the Presidency, saying:
“…It’s important to me as her younger sister to see so much support for her when she’s put herself, forward for this immense responsibility, and taken up the call in this critical moment for our country. So it just means so much to me as a younger sister to see you all show up for my sister but also in doing that you’re standing up for your country at probably the most consequential moment that we have faced…”
Ms. Harris then recounted her sisters and her upbringing by their mother, family, and members of the community where they lived and how that shaped the Vice President’s perspectives on people including her beliefs that:
“We all have so much more in common than what separates us that we all want fundamentally, the same things for our children, for our families, for our communities, and that we can have different backgrounds. We can speak different languages. We can have different perspectives. We can have different experiences, but the thing that really does bind us all together is a desire to be free. To fulfill our god-given potential and we grew up in a community that saw all of our potential and nurtured it…”
On what her sister would fight for as President, Ms. Harris told the guests she, unlike her MAGA-Fascist opponent, is:
“Someone who actually is fighting for an inclusive democracy, where, no matter who you are or where you come from, or what language, you speak, or what neighborhood you live in, you have opportunities that you deserve, no matter who you are, and someone who actually wants to fight for an America, where we recognize that our differences are not a weakness. It’s actually the greatest strength of this country. Also, to fight for an America, where we’re investing in the Middle Class to bolster our economy because we grew up in a hardworking middle class Community… We were raised with an understanding that every American deserves to have not just a good paying job and be able to buy a home and be able to start and grow business if that’s what they want to do but everybody should have the opportunity to build wealth and have something to pass on to their children. Because what do we all want? We all want our children, to be happy even more and do better than we did. And that is who she is, and that is what she’s fighting for.”
On her sisters appeal, Ms. Harris commented that people, including many first time voters would:
“(See) something about her. They connected to her. They could see in her eyes. They could see in her smile. They could see in her face a confidence that she was going to fight for them and so they have just taken it upon themselves to say, what can I do. What more can I do? I’m going to do everything I can. That is how she has won these races…I mean, we saw her at the debate. We’ve seen her on Fox News. We’ve seen her at all of these Town Halls. You see all of (those) Republicans who are rallying and coming to to her side, understanding the critical moment… So she’s doing her job.”
Ms. Harris concluded her remarks by appealing to the guests to continue the fight for the next 11 days until the election, offering:
“And so really, it’s on us now to do our job. It is on us to carry this the rest of the way, because she’s going to keep doing what she’s doing, but she cannot do this without you. She cannot do this without you. She is only at this place by virtue of all of you who have come to rally behind her, and her support and your support. And what I really need you to understand especially here in Arizona. Is that the people to people conversations matter…It’s the people-to-people conversations that are people having they’re really making the difference. When you can speak authentically of your support for her. When your eyes light up. When you talk about it. When you speak with passion and urgency and confidence about why you’re supporting her, it is infectious. And it’s also an invitation to people to be a part of what you’re for and what we’re about, and where we’re going. And we’re going forward. We are not going back…You’ve got to get out and do every single thing that you can for the next eleven days because that’s how we’re going to protect our freedoms. That’s how we’re going to build a brighter future and that’s how we’re going to elect Kamala Harris as the next President of the United States.”
At the end of Ms. Harris’s speech, Harris/Walz Campaign Volunteer Dallas Salas described the enthusiasm for the Harris/Walz Community at this event and within the Arizona Asian-American Community as “Over the Moon” and he was proud that Harris was a representative of “biracial people.”
On the Vice President winning the great majority of Arizona’s Asian American Community on November 5, Mr. Dallas said that would “Definitely happen” and he would “go out there” and “knock on as many doors” as possible to make that happen.
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