Beyoncé expected at Harris rally in Texas

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Beyoncé is anticipated to look Friday in her hometown of Houston at a rally for Vice President Kamala Harris, in response to three folks conversant in the matter.

Harris’ presidential marketing campaign has taken on Beyonce’s 2016 observe “Freedom” as its anthem, and the singer’s deliberate look brings a high-level of star energy to what has grow to be a key theme of the Democratic nominee’s bid: freedom.

Harris will head to the reliably Republican state simply 10 days earlier than Election Day in an effort to refocus her marketing campaign towards former President Donald Trump on reproductive care, which Democrats see as a make-or-break difficulty this yr.

The three folks weren’t approved to publicly talk about the matter and spoke on situation of anonymity. The Harris marketing campaign didn’t instantly remark.

Beyoncé‘s look was anticipated to attract much more consideration to the occasion — and to Harris’ closing message.

Harris’ Houston journey is about to function girls who’ve been affected by Texas’ restrictive abortion legal guidelines, which took impact after the Supreme Courtroom overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. She has campaigned in different states with restrictive abortion legal guidelines, together with Georgia, among the many seven most carefully contested states.

Harris has centered her marketing campaign round the concept Trump is a menace to American freedoms, from reproductive and LGBTQ rights to the liberty to be secure from gun violence.

Beyonce gave Harris permission early in her marketing campaign to make use of “Freedom,” a soulful observe from her 2016 landmark album “Lemonade,” in her debut advert. Harris has used its thumping refrain as a walk-out music at rallies ever since.

Beyoncé’s alignment with Harris isn’t the primary time that the Grammy winner has aligned with a Democratic politician. Barack Obama and his spouse, Michelle, danced as Beyoncé carried out at a presidential inaugural ball in 2009.

In 2013, she sang the nationwide anthem at Obama’s second inauguration. Three years later, she and her husband Jay-Z carried out at a pre-election live performance for Democrat Hillary Clinton in Cleveland.

“Look how far we’ve come from having no voice to being getting ready to historical past — once more,” Beyoncé stated on the time. “However we’ve to vote.”

A January ballot by Ipsos for the anti-polarization nonprofit With Honor discovered that 64% of Democrats had a good view of Beyonce in contrast with simply 32% of Republicans. Total, Individuals have been extra more likely to have a good opinion than an unfavorable one, 48% to 33%.

Hypothesis over whether or not the famous person would seem at this summer season’s Democratic Nationwide Conference in Chicago reached a fever pitch on the gathering’s closing night time, with on-line rumors swirling after superstar information website TMZ posted a narrative that stated: “Beyoncé is in Chicago, and on the brink of come out for Kamala Harris on the ultimate night time of the Democratic conference.” The positioning attributed it to “a number of sources within the know,” none of them named.

About an hour after Harris ended her speech, TMZ up to date its story to say, “To cite the good Beyoncé: We gotta lay our playing cards down, down, down … we bought this one improper.” Ultimately, Harris took the stage to star’s music, however that was its solely look.

Final yr, Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, attended Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour in Maryland after getting tickets from Beyonce herself. “Thanks for a enjoyable date night time, @Beyonce,” Harris wrote on Instagram.

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Lengthy and Kinnard reported from Washington. Related Press author Linley Sanders in Washington contributed to this report. Kinnard might be reached at